


What To Do When He Doesn't Love You

by KagehinaLollipop



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Best Friends, Bottom Hinata Shouyou, Coffee Shop, Condoms, Eventual Smut, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Heart Broken Hinata, Hurt Hinata, Kissing, M/M, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Smut, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, Top Kageyama Tobio, Very angsty fic, Virgin Hinata, Yamaguchi and Hinata are childhood friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 00:30:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13535826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagehinaLollipop/pseuds/KagehinaLollipop
Summary: "Hinata... don't think about it too much. Your soulmate will love you for you."He traced over the number '5' with his finger, the number that symbolized what would potentially be the greatest day of his life. Hinata had been looking forward to meeting his soulmate since the beginning of time, or, rather, since he knew what soulmates even were.OR Soulmate AU where everyone has a number on their wrist indicating a countdown to the day they meet their soulmate.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being about 10,000 words longer than expected... I can't believe how long this turned out. I've been dreaming of writing a Soulmate AU and, well... it turned out kind of different than I'd hoped, but I hope you all can enjoy it, anyway!
> 
> PLEASE excuse typos, this, without a doubt, will be full of them. Thank you!

"See you later, Yamaguchi!"

"Bye, Hinata!"

Hinata popped his earbuds in his ears, walking out of the extremely warm building and out into the chilly, winter air. The cold slapped his cheeks harshly and he shuddered, turning up to volume on his phone so that the music thundered in his ears. There were a few snowflakes falling down from the grey sky, but it wasn't cold enough for anything to stick to the ground.

That day was oddly busy for a Monday afternoon. There were people bumping into his shoulders as he passed by, but Hinata paid them no mind. How could he? The number on his wrist was decreasing slower than he would've liked, but it made his week all the better. Hinata took a careful glance down at his right wrist at the thought.

He traced over the number '5' with his finger, the number that symbolized what would potentially be the greatest day of his life. Hinata had been looking forward to meeting his soulmate since the beginning of time, or, rather, since he knew what soulmates even were. 

When Hinata was four years old, his mother told him that he would constantly ask for the story of how his mother met his father.

"It was a very warm down outside... warm, like your cheeks!" She leaned over and gave one of his cheeks a light pinch, and little Shouyou squealed and giggled. He pulled the covers up closer to his face, snuggling closer into bed. His mother was sitting beside him, smilingly lovingly down at her only child at the time.

"I was working as a--"

"Florist!" finished Shouyou and his mother looked down at him, playfully stern.

"Shouyou, how can I tell you the story if you're going to finish it for me?"

"Sorry, Mother."

"Yes, I was working as a florist," she swept a piece of hair over her shoulder, "And the number on my wrist... do you remember what it said, Shouyou?"

"Zero!"

His mother smiled, running a hand through her son's hair. "You're right, Shouyou!" he smiled widely up at her, intrigued. She continued, "Anyway, I was excited because I knew that that day was going to be the happiest day of my life. I was making flower arrangements when I noticed that the day was growing dimmer by the second. I was feeling scared because the day was ending soon, and I still hadn't met my soulmate! I thought maybe the number on my wrist was playing a nasty trick on me."

"I was leaving for work that day and the sky was nearly dark. I was feeling sad because I knew that I might not meet my soulmate. I felt like I was about to cry!" She faked streaming a tear down her cheek and Shouyou giggled.

"Only, when I swung open the door to the flower shop and stepped outside, I ran into someone and they knocked me to the ground!" She held a hand over her eyes and fell backward on the bed. Hinata had a fit of laughter. His mother was always the best at telling stories and making them the most interesting things that Shouyou had ever heard.

"I looked up and was ready to yell at that person, but then... our eyes met. And there was a loud ringing noise in both of our ears. I leaned forward and so did he, and our fingertips met. The second that we touched, the noise stopped." His mother smiled fondly at the memory.

"And that was Daddy, right?"

His mother smiled, leaning in and placing a soft kiss to her son's forehead. "Yes, Shouyou," she laughed, "It was your father."

Hinata looked up at her fondly, looking down at the number written on his flesh. The inscription read, '18 years, 7 months, 14 days.' Hinata brushed over it with his chubby fingers.

"18 years," he recalled, because his mother had read it to him so many times before, "Mother, what does that part say?"

"Well, what did it say yesterday, Shouyou?" 

Hinata thought hard, squinting his eyes before saying, "Fifteen days?"

"Right. Do you remember the number that comes before fifteen?"

Shouyou racked his brain, counting and counting. But he couldn't remember the number. His mother helped him, used their fingers to count each number until Shouyou guessed the number right. He squealed in delight when he realized the answer.

"And... and tomorrow it'll say thirteen, right, Mother?"

"That's right!" she said happily, "Good boy, Shouyou!"

That was how nearly every night went until Hinata was eight years old. His friends had all been discussing their numbers.

"Mine says I'll meet my soulmate in ten years!" one of them said, "That's when I'm eighteen years old!"

"I'm gonna meet mine when I'm sixteen! Hah!" another said, teasingly.

Yamaguchi, his closest friend, smiled shyly. "I'm... I'm gonna meet mine when I'm nineteen... I can't wait for that day."

Hinata looked down at his number glumly. Out of his entire class, he would have to wait the longest to meet his soulmate, as the number indicated on his wrist that he would not meet them until he was twenty-two.

That age seemed like an eternity away. He felt as he was the most excited to meet his soulmate.

"Yamaguchi," he muttered one evening, when they were fourteen years old and walking home from school together, "Can I... ask you something?"

The taller, freckled boy looked down, hiking his backpack up a little higher on his shoulders and nodded.

Hinata looked away, "I... I've always thought of my soulmate being a cute little girl, someone who is bright and positive and always smiling. Like me!" He smiled, but then he looked down again, "But... But what if my soulmate--"

"Isn't a girl?" Yamaguchi finished and Hinata flushed. The taller boy began to pat at Hinata's back and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Hinata. Your soulmate is the person that was made just for you, and you only. Personally, I don't care whether or not my soulmate is a girl or boy. As long as they make me happy, then I'm perfectly fine!"

Hinata grinned up at his friend, "So you don't think it's gross for two boys to be together?"

"Of course not! Like I said, as long as we make each other happy, then I'll cherish that person forever."

Hinata walked a little slower and asked, "But... but let's say that my soulmate is a boy. What if he meets me and realizes I'm not a girl and then he... he doesn't want to be with me?"

Yamaguchi bit his lip. It wasn't entirely uncommon for that scenario to take place. It was a rather sad fact. "Hinata... don't think about it too much. Your soulmate will love you for you."

That was what kept Hinata going each day. When they were nineteen, he would come to realize that he'd feel an intense spurt of jealousy as Yamaguchi's count down decreased quicker and quicker.

"I'm meeting them tomorrow, Hinata!" he laughed. They were sitting in a fast-food restaurant, having lunch together. "Gosh, I'm so nervous! I can't wait to meet them! I've been dreaming about this day forever!"

Hinata looked down sourly at his own wrist, which still read '3 years, 5 months, 12 days.'

"Hinata," Yamaguchi said nervously, "Do you... do you think you could spend the day with me tomorrow?"

Shouyou blinked at him oddly, "But don't you want to be alone when you meet your soulmate?"

"Oh, goodness, no!" he laughed, "I mean, I guess I should be... but I'm just so scared! And... and when I meet him or her... I want you to meet them right away!"

Hinata smiled, "Sure, I'll hang out with you tomorrow, Yamaguchi. But as soon as you meet them, I promise I'll wander off and let you guys do your own thing for a while. Okay?"

Yamaguchi blushed, "Thanks, Hinata. I'm glad I have you around to have my back."

The next day, Yamaguchi was a nervous wreck. He had hardly slept the night before, and he was quaking as they walked the streets that day.

"Does my hair look okay? I don't have anything in my teeth, right?"

"Yams, you look fine! Don't worry, you're totally hot."

Yamaguchi and Hinata laughed loudly. The taller boy was feeling a lot less nervous since his best friend was with him.

They walked around for hours, shopping and pointing out knickknacks to one another. But Hinata knew that Yamaguchi wasn't at all interested in looking at any merchandise; he was looking around, desperately trying to make eye contact with every person everywhere in hopes that he would find the one he would spend the rest of his life with. Hopefully.

"Stop thinking about it," Hinata told him, "It'll happen, okay? It's guaranteed to happen today. So mellow out, man."

Yamaguchi chuckled nervously. Hinata suggested that they head next door into a video game shop. Yamaguchi and Hinata often played video games together, so the shorter boy knew it'd be a good distraction.

When they entered the store, they were a little shocked to see it was pretty packed. Then again, it was a weekend. There were a lot of children and older men inside, surprisingly.

"Wow, it's pretty packed," Yamaguchi pointed out obviously.

"Oh, should we see if they've got 'Mister Twister 3'?"

Yamaguchi perked up, "You're right! Come on, let's go check."

They made their way toward one of the back walls, looking through the games. Hinata and Yamaguchi scanned each game individually, in search of a sequel to one of their favorite games.

"Ah!" Yamaguchi said finally, reaching up to pick a game, "Here it is--"

Hinata looked at him when he was cut off. He knew immediately what was happening and tried not to squeal and cheer for his best friend.

The most cliche moment had occurred. Yamaguchi and another person reached for the game at the exact same time. Hinata watched as Yamaguchi stood, stunned as he held eye contact with another person in the shop.

It was a man. Hinata noticed that first. He was a lot taller than Hinata, but only a couple inches taller than Yamaguchi. He had messy blonde hair and black frames perched on his nose. He was looking down at Yamaguchi, equally shocked.

Slowly, the man reached forward and placed a hand on Yamaguchi's cheek. It was extremely straight forward since he was still a stranger, but Yamaguchi did not care, obviously, because he had just met his soulmate, finally, after so many years.

The ringing in their ears must have stopped, because Hinata watched the two of them smile in unison. At the same time, they looked down at their wrists. The numbers had been replaced with a name.

"Tsukishima Kei? That's your name?" Shouyou heard his best friend say. The man nodded.

"And... you're Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi Tadashi."

Yamaguchi melted when he heard his name.

"Y-Yes!" he stuttered, "Yes, that's me!"

The taller man released his cheek, licking his lips. He could not keep his eyes off of Yamaguchi.

"Um... you're a fan of 'Mister Twister', too?"

Yamguchi perked up, "Ah, yeah! Actually, my best friend and I play it all the time!" He turned around and locked eyes with Shouyou. "This is Hinata Shouyou."

"Hi," said Hinata weakly. The man nodded at him.

"You're pretty short."

Yamaguchi and Hinata froze. Suddenly, Yamaguchi let out a snort and began to laugh loudly.

"Yamaguchi!" scolded Hinata, but the freckled man continued to laugh.

"S-Sorry, Hinata! It's just funny!"

Tsukishima smiled. "I've... I've accomplished my mission, then. I made you laugh."

Yamaguchi looked up at him, blushing. Hinata would've barfed at the cheesy comment if he wasn't extremely jealous.

As promised, Hinata said goodbye to Yamaguchi and left them alone to catch up. They would have a lot of talking to do.

***

Hinata woke up the next morning and almost forgot. However, when he raised a hand to rub over his eyes, he saw a fat zero on his wrist and he shot up and screamed.

"Shouyou?!" he heard his mother cry from outside and he began laughing, standing up and jumping up and down on his bed. His mother swung open the door. "Shou-- what the--"

"Mom!" he screamed, jumping off his bed and racing over to her, hugging her tightly, "Today's the day! Today's the day!"

His mother smiled and hugged him.

"Oh my god, I've gotta go shower! Today's the freaking day!" He sprinted around his mother and headed for the bathroom, hurrying up and jumping inside. He quickly washed, scrubbing his fingers in his hair and using a nice soap that smelled astoundingly good. Hinata wondered if his soulmate would like the smell, too.

When he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, he quickly texted Yamaguchi.

To: Yams

OMFG YAMAGUCHI WAKE UP TODAY IS THE FUCKING DAY

The other boy answered immediately, as Hinata towel dried his hair.

From: Yams

OMG I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED 4 U! DON'T PASS OUT WHEN U MEET THEM!

Hinata laughed loudly, twirling around and singing loudly as he dressed himself. He skipped merrily down the stairs, two at a time even though he knew his mother would scold him for it, and headed for the kitchen. His mother was preparing a giant breakfast, filled with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast.

"Natsu!" he screeched, running over to his little sister and picking her up, swinging her around in his embrace, "Today's the day!"

"Ouch! Let me go, dummy!" but the little girl that strikingly resembled her brother was laughing loudly. "I'm happy for you, brother, really."

Shouyou ate his breakfast so fast he choked. He finished getting ready and ran toward the front door, pulling on his shoes.

"I'm going!" he called and his mother and sister quickly caught him before he left.

"Shouyou," his mother said softly, "I know you're excited, but... listen, whoever they are, just know that they're going to love you no matter what--"

Hinata groaned at the cheesiness.

"--And I'm so proud of you, honey, really, I am. I love you so much... oh god, my baby boy has become such a man--" his mother began to cry. Hinata rolled his eyes.

"Mom, I'm fine, really. Can I leave now? I don't want to miss them!"

She wiped at some tears. "Don't get discouraged if you don't meet them right away, okay? It'll happen."

"Don't be nervous, brother!" Natsu said with a grin, "And don't forget to bring them over today so I can meet them, too!"

"It might be too soon for that, Natsu--"

"Guys, I know you're trying to make me feel better but I really would like to go now--"

"Right!" his mother said, "Bye, Shouyou. Don't be scared, okay?"

"Good luck!" Natsu cheered and Shouyou smiled at the two of them warmly before walking out. He agreed to meet Yamaguchi at work before he went off to find his soulmate.

Hinata and Yamaguchi both worked at a coffee shop several blocks away from the shorter male's house. Shouyou wanted to get his best friend's opinion on his appearance before he went away to meet his soulmate. The thought made him squeal and skip faster along the street.

When he entered the coffee shop, Hinata immediately spotted Yamaguchi talking to someone else. Hinata recognized the man immediately and he stepped closer to them. Yamaguchi noticed them approaching.

"Ah, Hinata!" he said proudly, "You excited?"

"Hell yeah!" Hinata replied before turning to look at the man that Yamaguchi was talking with.

"Tsukishima, nice to see you again."

"You too, Hinata. I heard that you're meeting someone pretty special today." Yamaguchi had scolded his now boyfriend into being nice to Hinata that day. Normally, Tsukishima would greet the shorter man with a comment on his height or how his hair stood up oddly that day. But today was Hinata's day, and Yamaguchi was going to do everything he could to make it a perfect day for his best friend.

"I'm so nervous!" sighed Hinata, "What if they kiss me?"

Yamaguchi slapped Tsukishima hard on the arm when he snorted. He turned to Hinata and said with a smile, "I don't things will go that quickly, Hinata."

Hinata bit his lip. "Do you think they've already had their first kiss?" Hinata had been saving his first kiss for his soulmate, had never even dated someone because he wanted his soulmate to be his first and last.

"Who cares?" Tsukishima said, "It doesn't matter. They're going to be with you for a long time. There's bound to be a first for them, too."

Hinata smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

Yamaguchi looked up from behind the counter when he heard the bell chime, signalling someone had walked into the coffee shop. "Ah, one second. Let me help these customers."

Hinata nodded, stepping a little closer to Tsukishima. The taller boy looked down at him with a bland expression. However, the taller boy remembered how Yamaguchi had threatened him that day and did he best to give Hinata a reassuring smile. Hinata took a few deep breaths, nervous. He looked over to watch as Yamaguchi helped two customers.

And then the familiar ringing blared in his ears, and he was deaf except for that noise.

A pair of extremely blue eyes was staring back at him. Hinata forgot how to breathe. He didn't hear Yamaguchi saying, "Sir?" in order to get his attention, but Yamaguchi quickly shut up as he saw that the customer was staring at his best friend. He tried not to squeal for Hinata's sake.

Hinata was frozen. It was the stranger that made the first move, stepping closer and reaching out for Hinata. The redhead braced himself for impact, felt the warmth of another hand mingling with his own, and then the noise stopped.

It was a man, Hinata noticed. He was a lot taller than Shouyou. His hair was ink black and his eyes... he had the most beautiful eyes that Hinata had ever seen. His jawline was strong, sharp. He was wearing a white shirt and a black jacket that totally suited him. Hinata felt a blush creep up his neck.

"... Hello."

Hinata gulped at the man's greeting. His voice was deep, mysterious just like Hinata had expected when he first saw him.

"... Hi."

The pair stood staring at each other for what felt like forever. Hinata looked down at his wrist. The number '0' that was written on his arm had vanished and was replaced with two words.

"... Kageyama Tobio?"

The other man looked down at his own wrist and then back up to the smaller man in front of him.

"Hinata Shouyou."

Hinata looked down at Kageyama's wrist and tried not to pass out when he saw his own name inscribed on his skin. Permanently. Forever.

Finally, Shouyou raised a hand and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. "I... I can't believe it's you," he breathed honestly. Kageyama bit his lip.

"Yeah..."

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were eyeing each other, eyes flashing between Hinata and Kageyama.

"Um," Kageyama said, "It's, uh, it's nice to meet you."

"Yeah..." Hinata said dreamily. This was the man he'd be spending the rest of his life with. "I'm... I've been dreaming about this day since I was a kid."

The man shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Hinata. Hinata cursed himself for being so straightforward.

"Sorry... that's a weird thing to say to you, right? We've only just met..."

"No, no... uh," Kageyama swallowed, "It's fine."

Hinata smiled warmly at him and Kageyama blinked, turning a little pink. "Did you... did you wanna, maybe, sit with me and talk for a little bit?"

"Oh, uh," Kageyama said, "Well, actually I'm with--"

"Oh!" Hinata said, acknowledging the girl that Kageyama was with. "Who is this? Your sister?"

Kageyama looked between the girl and Hinata. Slowly, he opened his mouth and answered,

"No, she... she's my girlfriend."

***

Hinata Natsu and her mother were sitting in the living room, clutching two cups of cold tea. They were beyond nervous, sitting in silence as they waited for Shouyou to return. 

When they heard the front door open and slam shut, the threw their cups on the coffee table and stood up, waiting for Shouyou to round the corner. When he did, Natsu immediately asked,

"Well? Did you meet them?"

The pair stopped however, frozen and choking on the air. Shouyou's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, face red and hot.

He had been crying.

Immediately, Shouyou let out a sob and ran from the room, up the stairs and into his room. They heard the door slam shut, and Natsu and her mother slowly turned to look at each other, stunned. They had not at all expected this reaction.

Turning to her daughter, Hinata's mother said, "Wait here, Natsu. I'll check up on him."

She'd made it halfway up the stairs and her heart fell to pieces. She could already hear her son sobbing loudly. She'd never heard him cry so hard in his life. She knew immediately that something had went terribly wrong.

Slowly, she tapped on Hinata's door. "Shouyou?" The boy inside said nothing, continuing his loud crying. She stepped inside. 

The scene shattered her heart farther. Hinata was sitting on the bed, clutching a pillow tight to his chest. He'd wrapped every limb he could around the pillow. His face was buried in the pillow, but his eyes were still visible. They were wet and puffy. He let out another sob.

"Shouyou..." she said calmly, and carefully crept toward her son. She sat on the bed beside him and he let out a long whine, tears falling down his red cheeks.

"His name is Kageyama Tobio," hiccuped Hinata, "And I hate him. I hate him more than anything else in this world."

His mother looked extremely taken aback. She began rubbing a gentle hand up and down his back, soothing him the way she knew best. She remained silently, waiting for him to continue.

"I-I went to go meet Yamaguchi, like we planned, and... and he went to take orders from a customer and... and it was him, mom. My stupid, stupid soulmate." He let out another cry, "And he touched me and the ringing stopped, just like you said, but... but I said so many things to him. I told him that I'd been waiting forever to meet him and he just kind of... he looked so uncomfortable. And... and he was with someone, mom. A girl," Hinata let out a wild cry, "He's got a girlfriend, mom. He's dating someone else."

Natsu was standing in the door frame. She had heard the entire tale, and it hurt her to see her brother cry. She'd almost never seen him cry, especially not like this. She immediately wanted to find Kageyama and beat his face in.

Their mother had enveloped Shouyou into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder, crying. She kissed the top of his head and rocked him gently.

"Oh, Shouyou," she said softly, "It's alright, darling. Calm down."

"How can I?!" screamed Hinata, "He... he's supposed to be mine... he's supposed to be single and waiting for me, just like I waited for him!"

"I know," she muttered softly in his hair, "But... Shouyou, your name is still on his skin forever, right? He knows your name now, he's made that connection with you. It won't be long before he's running back to you."

"I hate him," cried Hinata weakly, "I don't want a soulmate. I hate that his name is on me forever. I wish that soulmates didn't exist."

His mother ran a hand through his hair. "I know, darling."

"What do I do, mom?" hiccuped Hinata.

"Well," she said, "What I would do is try and get him to change his mind about you. You two were destined to be together, which means you'll make him happier than some girl will. For now, just get to know him. He'll come around."

"But it hurts," sobbed Hinata, "As soon as he told me, I didn't know what to do. My heart broke and I was trying so hard not to cry in front of him. He told me that he still wanted to talk me and that'd he like for me to talk to his girlfriend, too, but... but I couldn't do it. I gave him my number and then I ran out. It was so awkward..."

"See? At least he's trying to get to know you, too, Shouyou." She kissed his head again, "For now, just do what I've said. Get to know him, okay? Even if it takes a while, I'm sure he'll come to love you."

Hinata felt doubtful. His heart was completely torn. He didn't want to see Kageyama ever again.

"Don't give up, darling. You might really come to like being his friend."

***

Yamaguchi called him after his shift was over.

"What a no good, rotten man!" scolded Yamaguchi and Hinata smiled just a little.

"Thanks, Yams."

"He's an idiot, Shou," said Yamaguchi, "If I were him, I would've dumped that ugly girl as soon as I saw you."

Hinata smiled again. Yamaguchi always knew what to say to get him to smile.

"Don't worry, Shouyou," the man said, "I'm sure he'll realize that you're the greatest thing since sliced bread eventually. Hang in there, okay? This'll be a great story to tell your kids some day."

Hinata laughed, "God, I don't even know if I want kids with him... I don't even know if I want to be with him at all."

There was a silence on the other line. After a moment, Yamaguchi was saying softly, "Remember, it doesn't matter who he's with, Shouyou. You're his soulmate. The stupid bimbo he's with can't change that. It's you're name on his wrist, not hers."

"Want me to beat him up?" another voice said and Hinata laughed.

"No, that's okay. But thanks, Tsukishima."

"Hey, do you want to go get desserts with Tsukki and I?" Yamaguchi asked, "My treat!"

"You mean more like /my/ treat," he heard Tsukishima say.

"Shut up, Tsukki!" scolded Yamaguchi.

"Actually," Hinata said, "That sounds awesome. I really want to see you guys. I don't want to spend the day holed up in my room."

A while later, Hinata was climbing down the stairs and headed out. His mom stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to meet Yamaguchi and his boyfriend," he answered. "They're gonna treat me to a dessert, so of course I said yes."

His mother eyed him tentatively. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will," he said and then walked out and began walking toward the place he'd be meeting his friends.

When he arrived, they each ordered a dessert. Yamaguchi and Tsukki ordered alcoholic drinks, and they ordered one for Hinata, too.

"You look like you could use a drink," Yamaguchi said, smiling. Hinata had never been keen on drinking, but Yamaguchi was right; he definitely needed one.

Hinata ordered a big piece of chocolate cheesecake. They ate them quietly and sipped on their drinks.

"Hey," Yamaguchi said softly, "Are you holding up okay?"

Shouyou had been expecting them to ask the question, but his stomach was feeling queasy. The burning sensation of the alcohol soothed him a little, though.

"No," answered Hinata honestly, "But whatever."

Tsukishima looked at him. He called their waiter over and ordered Hinata another drink.

"Don't worry," he said, "It's totally on me."

Hinata smiled. Although Tsukishima had grown accustomed to making fun of his boyfriend's friend, Hinata knew Tsukki was a very good guy deep down. He couldn't have imagined a better match for his best friend.

"Thanks," said Hinata and he grinned a little.

At that moment, as he finished off his cheesecake, his phone began to ring.

"Who's calling you?" Yamaguchi asked and Hinata shrugged.

"Unknown number." He picked up the call and immediately regretted his actions.

"Hello?"

"Hinata?"

His heart broke yet again. 

"K... Kageyama?"

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both snapped their heads toward him in unison, looking away from where they'd been eating their cake.

"Hey..." Kageyama said. Hinata swallowed.

"Why're you calling me?"

The line was silent for a moment. He heard Kageyama shuffle before saying,

"Um... I wanted to talk to you, is all."

Hinata bit his lip.

"What... what're you up to?" Kageyama asked and Hinata wanted to smack him through the phone.

"I'm out with my friends."

"Oh," Kageyama whispered. The two remained silenced in an extremely uncomfortable silence.

"I... I know this is a little rude and sudden, but may I join you guys?"

Hinata's head snapped up, eyes wide. He made contact with Yamaguchi and Tsukki. They looked at him, dazed. He swallowed hard.

"H-Hang on." Hinata lowered his phone, resting it against his chest and whispering quietly to them, "He... he wants to come meet us up here."

Yamaguchi asked, "Well? What're you going to say?"

"I... I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready to see him."

"Hinata, he's making an effort to come and meet you! He obviously wants to see you!" Tsukishima said. Hinata bit his lip. "But... we're enjoying ourselves, aren't we?"

"Oh, shut up!" snapped Yamaguchi, "Tell him to come meet us here! If he's a dick, then I'll have Tsukki beat him up."

Hinata snorted a little. His heart was beating quick. He picked up the phone again.

"Um... okay. You can come here."

"Really?" Kageyama asked and Hinata lowered his eyes.

"Yeah..." He told him where they were at and Kageyama told him he would text him when he arrived.

"Oh god," Hinata swallowed, "He's on his way." He could feel tears prickle his eyes.

"Just breathe," Yamaguchi told him, "Tsukki's right. He's making an effort to come and see you, Shouyou."

"He's probably just going to apologize and then never speak to me again." Hinata let out a little cry.

"Shouyou, he wants to talk to you! He called you up and asked to see you, right? He wants to befriend you. Just be yourself, okay? He'll fall in love with you and dump that girl he's with."

Hinata sniffed. He slammed down the drink in front of him, feeling the liquid burn as he swallowed the substance. Tsukishima ordered him another drink.

"I'll pay you back for these drinks," he told the taller man and Tsukishima scoffed. 

"No way, I haven't treated you to anything in a long time. I'd like to treat you."

Hinata smiled at him and Yamaguchi rested his head on Tsukki's shoulder, smiling lovingly up at him.

They all waited in anticipation for Kageyama to arrive. When he did, he texted Hinata as promised.

"He's here," Hinata said, feeling tipsy. He wanted to vomit.

"Don't be nervous! You got this! Go show him what a hot piece of ass you are!" Yamaguchi said, grinning.

Hinata laughed, feeling a little better with the other man's words. He got up and made his way toward the entrance, waiting by the double doors.

He wasn't as ready as he thought he was to see Kageyama. The man approached him and gave him a little grin.

"Hey," he said and Hinata wanted to punch him in the face.

"Hi," Hinata responded dully. "My friends are this way." He began to walk in a direction but Kageyama quickly said,

"Wait!"

Hinata turned around, staring at him. It hurt so bad to have to look into Kageyama's eyes, knowing that he was taken.

"Hinata," Kageyama said his name so gently that the smaller man was ready to burst into tears again, "Um..."

"What?"

Kageyama swallowed, "I... I feel like we got off to a bad start earlier." He took a deep breath, "We've only just met today, but... but I do care for you, Hinata. Really, I do."

'You're an asshole,' thought Hinata, but he said, "Thanks."

"I... maybe you're thinking that I was just going to never speak to you again," he breathed, "But that's not it. I know... I know it's awkward because I'm... I'm with someone else, but... I still want to be your friend, Hinata. We're soulmates, after all."

Hinata's heart felt physically stomped on when Kageyama said the last part.

"I want you to meet her," Kageyama breathed, "My... my girlfriend. Her name's Kiyoko. I think you'd really like her."

Hinata couldn't help but say his next words. He was a little drunk, his alcohol tolerance incredibly low, but his heart had actually been torn to pieces by this stupid man in front of him. This man that he hated more than anyone else.

"You don't get it, do you?!" Hinata cried and Kageyama looked taken aback, "I waited for years to meet you... I've never dated anyone else or kissed anyone else in my life because... because I was saving all that romance stuff for you! I grew up hearing the most wonderful stories about how soulmate's were there for you for life, and how nobody else in the world was going to make me happier than that person. I waited and waited and today finally came around and... and I was so ready to spend the rest of my life with you, but... god, do you have any idea how it feels to save your heart for so long, only to hear that that person is dating someone else?!"

"Hinata--"

"No, you don't! You don't know how it feels! Right now, my heart is so broken that I don't think it can ever be fixed. And you don't even care!"

"I do care--"

"Shut up!" snapped Hinata, "I... I can't believe I wasted the first half of my life waiting for you. I can't believe I thought that today was going to be what I looked back on as the greatest day of my life. You see it now, don't you? This is the worst day of my entire life! I... I hate you. I really hate you." The smaller boy had begun to cry. He knew that it wasn't Kageyama's fault, knew that the other man was putting in an effort to befriend Hinata and show him how much he cared for him, but Hinata wasn't having any of that. He was so hurt by the man in front of him, hated him for being so happy... without him.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Kageyama said, "Really, I am."

"Save it," Hinata cried, "Please just... just go away. I don't want to see you ever again."

Kageyama blinked. "No."

Hinata stopped crying to look up at him, stunned. "What?"

"No, I'm not leaving."

Shouyou looked up at him angrily. Before he could protest, Kageyama continued,

"Dammit, Hinata, I'm telling you that I care about you! I... I can't imagine what you're feeling right now. I'm a dick, okay? I know that. I'm a huge asshole. I'm so sorry, Hinata, I am. I know how hurt you must be feeling right now, but... but I'm trying to fix that. I genuinely care about you, Hinata. I do, truly. And now that I've met you, I won't let you go that easy. I want to be your friend. Even if you hate me, I... I still want you in my life. That's very selfish of me to say, but... I won't let you live without me. I'm on your wrist, remember?" he smiled very weakly.

Hinata looked at him coldly.

"Can I still join you?"

Shouyou turned away, wiping away a final angry tear. He truly hated Kageyama. However, he said, "... Fine. You can join us."

Kageyama smiled. "Thanks."

"I really want to hit you," Hinata said, but he was half-joking. He was feeling better now that he yelled at Kageyama, and even better still that Kageyama still wanted to talk to him.

Kageyama laughed. "I know." Hinata's heart skipped a beat when he laughed.

Hinata lead them over to his friends, who were beginning to wonder what had taken him so long. They straightened up when they saw Kageyama. 

Hinata slid into the booth and Kageyama sat next to him. Hinata folded his arms.

Before Kageyama could greet them, Hinata barked, "Just so you know, my friends hate you, too!"

If Hinata weren't extremely tipsy, he would've never said such a thing. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima looked extremely taken aback.

"Yeah..." Kageyama said, looking at the two of them, " I know you guys must be thinking I'm a huge jerk. Thanks for letting me join you."

Yamaguchi gaped at him. "U-Um... nice to... meet you?"

Kageyama smiled, introducing himself, "I'm Kageyama. Nice to meet you, too."

"I'm... I'm Yamaguchi. This is my boyfriend, Tsukishima."

"Hello."

"... Hey."

Hinata huffed. Kageyama bit his lip and looked over at him.

"So... what do you like to do for fun?"

The smaller boy looked at him. "I don't know... play video games?"

"I'm not too experienced in video games, myself," admitted Kageyama, "Any other hobbies?"

"... Yamaguchi and I like to play volleyball."

Kageyama perked up, "Seriously? I do, too!"

Hinata blinked, feeling his heart lift slightly. "You do?"

"Yeah! We should play sometime." Kageyama gave him another little smile and Hinata bit his lip.

"Oh... Okay."

The rest of the night progressed as such. Kageyama continued to talk up Hinata, trying to get him to open up. Hinata, although his heart was not in a right state, was slowly coming to realize that Kageyama wasn't that bad of a person. He was funny and nice and he loved volleyball just as much as he did. He wondered if that was the only reason they were soulmates. 

However, although his heart had been slightly mended, Hinata would not forget that Kageyama was not his. He was a taken man, in love with someone else. The thought made Hinata angry all over again, made him sad and want to cry. He wanted to spit on Kageyama and kick him out of his life. But in his mind, he reminded himself that he and Kageyama were soulmates for a reason.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were finding it hard to grow accustomed to Kageyama. They would admit that he seemed nice enough, but he was hurting Hinata in the worst way. Yamaguchi could not forgive the other man for hurting his friend. Hinata had saved himself for so many years, only to be let down. The feelings he felt for his best friend made him feel sad for him.

"I know I mentioned this before and that it's kind of an odd topic but... I still want you to meet--"

"Your girlfriend," said Hinata bitterly, "Right... I'll consider it."

Kageyama gnawed at his lower lip. "Thank you, Hinata. I... really want for us to become good friends."

Hinata was thinking the same thing. Sure, Kageyama was nice, but he definitely was not getting the 'I love you' vibe like he'd expected. Rather than wanting to be with him intimately, Hinata was stunned to think that maybe he'd rather just be Kageyama's friend.

As they said their goodbyes, Hinata was feeling tons better. Of course, he was distraught about not finding his true love, but he had perhaps found a great new friend to help him lead the way instead.

***

"Thanks," Hinata was saying a couple of weeks later. Kageyama had just bought him an ice cream, even though it was snowing outside.

"No problem," Kageyama acknowledged, giving him a soft look. They sat down in a booth and Hinata began licking at the chocolate ice cream that sat on top of a waffle cone. Kageyama dug a spoon into the ice cream that had been placed in a bowl for him.

"Man," Kageyama said glumly, "I wish it would hurry up and get warmer outside. It's so much better practicing volleyball when your fingers aren't numb from the cold."

Hinata let out a little laugh. "I was thinking the same. I haven't played in so long... Yamaguchi and I played for our old high school team. We were pretty good, but... I don't know. I'm not sure we'd be so good anymore."

"You don't play anymore?"

"I mean, occasionally we'll bump back and forth, but it's a lot different when you don't have a setter to toss to you."

Kageyama grinned cheekily. "When we're able to practice in the park without freezing our asses off, I'll toss a lot to you."

Hinata scrunched his eyebrows a little. "You're a setter?"

"Yeah! I can't believe we haven't talked about this before!" Kageyama said, suddenly very intrigued.

"Are you any good?" Hinata asked with a wry smile. Kageyama scoffed.

"Are you kidding?" He crossed his arms, "I was invited to train in the national volleyball camp for juniors when I was in high school."

Hinata stopped licking his ice cream to stare wide-eyed at the man in front of him.

"Woah! For real?!"

"Uh huh!" said Kageyama impressively, crossing his arms and waving his spoon in the air.

"Wow..." gasped Hinata, astonished, "I can't believe that."

Kageyama was smirking impressively. "Still want me to toss to you?"

Hinata blinked, laughing loudly, "Hell yeah! Toss to me, Kageyama!"

The way Hinata said it made Kageyama's heart rate pick up. He'd never been so excited, never looked forward more to tossing to Hinata than he ever had.

Shouyou continued to lap at the ice cream, wiping his mouth on a napkin a few times when he got a little sticky. He licked around his lips and began to bite into the cone.

"Is it yummy?" asked Kageyama and Hinata hummed in response.

"It's very good! I've never been here before."

"It's one of my favorite places," chuckled Kageyama, "I bring Kiyoko here all the time."

The mention of Kageyama's girlfriend made Hinata's heart sink. Suddenly, he stopped lapping at his ice cream to look down sadly, frowning. Kageyama noticed.

"Oh... sorry. I shouldn't mention her so much... yeah?"

Hinata shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sure she's a nice person, but... it still hurts a little, okay?"

Tobio nodded vigorously, "Yeah, of course. Anyway, we were having a good time, so. Or, at least I was," he looked up at Hinata with careful eyes, "Are you? Having fun, I mean?"

Shouyou toyed with the question in his mind, but he didn't really need to do so. He knew how he was feeling, but he didn't want to admit to the feeling.

"Yeah," he said softly, "I am."

The taller man smiled, letting out a deep breath. "I'm glad."

They continued to stare at one another for a moment before they moved on, learning more and more about one another.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. What about you?"

Hinata tucked a hair behind his ear. "Maybe red."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

Hinata looked a little taken aback. "You're older than me."

"Yeah... ?"

"By two whole years..."

Tobio bit his lip. "Is that... um, an issue?"

Hinata shook his head. "No, I just thought you'd be my age, is all. But that's okay. Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope. Do you?"

"Yeah, I have a little sister."

"Oh, that's cool. That must be nice."

"Nah, she's annoying," laughed Hinata jokingly. He gently set his cup down and asked hesitantly, "Would you... want to meet her some time?"

Kageyama took a sharp breath, swallowing harshly. He clicked his fingers on the table and said softly, "Well... sure, I would."

Hinata snapped his eyes to look up at the other man. "Really? My mom, too?"

"Well, yeah!" Kageyama told him with a smirk, "Of course I want to meet your family."

Shouyou relaxed a little, sighing. They'd have to wait a bit, though, because Natsu still didn't seem to like the idea that her older brother had a soulmate who was already taken.

"Hey, um..." Shouyou asked nervously, "Do you want to maybe see a movie some time? With me? I can treat you since you bought me ice cream."

The taller man tapped his chin. "That sounds fun."

The two of them had a rather long discussion about what movies intrigued them and which did not. They talked about nothing particularly interesting after that, but neither of them minded. They were slowly learning more and more about each other and that was enough for them. Even if it was something small, the new facts would be engraved in their memories for a long time.

Hinata and Kageyama began walking around town after that. Hinata recalled a memory of he and Yamaguchi wandering that very street when he had met Tsukishima. The thought made him feel rather warm inside, and he turned to Kageyama and subconsciously gave him a wide grin. Kageyama, though unsure, gave him a tiny smirk and then looked ahead again. Hinata blushed a little and shook away the unnecessary thought.

"Yikes, it's freezing," chattered Tobio suddenly. The redhead let out a deep sigh, lungs feeling chilled.

"Don't be such a baby," he teased, "It isn't that cold." But Hinata was freezing, himself. He blamed the sudden chill on the ice cream they'd just eaten.

"Isn't that the coffee shop you work at?" Kageyama was asking out of the blue, pointing ahead with a gloved hand to show a building on the corner of the street. Hinata nodded.

"Yeah..." he thought a minute, "Hey, now that I think about it, I think Yamaguchi is working!"

The lankier man stopped short for a moment, as though he was hesitating. But then he gave Hinata a gentle look and suggested they go and visit Shouyou's friend. He thought maybe a hot drink would do well at warming him up.

Kageyama watched as Hinata skipped a little ahead of him, looking oddly happy. He knew that Hinata was simply excited to see his friend, but silently he wished Hinata was that happy because he was with Kageyama.

"Kageyama?" a noise said, evoking Kageyama from his minor daydream. Hinata had stopped because Kageyama, without remembering doing so, had also stopped. He shook his head.

"Sorry," he smiled apologetically, "I was just thinking."

Hinata eyed him suspiciously but turned around and continued walking, anyway. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he told himself that it was because he was delighted to be seeing his friend in just a few moments.

The duo entered the coffee shop and Yamaguchi, who had looked up from where he was restocking coffee beans, smiled warmly at them.

"Hinata!" he called cheerfully, and his grin faltered a little when he saw Kageyama. He did not like Kageyama, and was not excited to see him. However, he gave him a weak smile for Hinata's sake and said, "Hi."

"Hey," answered Kageyama, "Good to see you again."

"How's work been?" asked Hinata, now leaning on the counter in front of the register.

"Slow," laughed Yamaguchi, "But Tsukishima is coming to meet me on my lunch break, so I'm looking forward to that."

"Who else is working?"

"Kenma should be here in an hour," answered the taller boy.

The small ginger turned toward a lankier dark-haired man and asked, "Do you want something to drink, Kageyama?"

"Oh," the older one bit his lip, "Uh, I guess. Do you want anything?"

The pair ordered hot chocolate, a gesture that made Yamaguchi laugh because making hot chocolate in a coffee shop seemed a little absurd. Despite his slight giggling, Yamaguchi began making their orders, anyway. Kageyama allowed Hinata to take lead toward a small booth in a back corner of the shop. The place was Hinata's favorite spot, and he felt a little odd sharing it with Kageyama.

"How long have Yamaguchi and Tsukishima been dating?" asked Kageyama and Hinata took a small sip of his hot chocolate (which ended in him slamming the cup down, screaming "hot!") before responding,

"About three and a half years now? I think."

"Wow," reciprocated Kageyama, "They met pretty young, then."

"I guess..." muttered Hinata. He blew on his drink a little before drinking another baby sip. He let his eyes flutter closed a little as he took a sip, licking his lips and moaning just a bit at the taste. Kageyama felt his neck go hot.

"Do you have any other plans for today?" asked Hinata, trying to make conversation. He was definitely trying to make himself comfortable with Kageyama as quickly as possible. Though, every time he stared into the other man's brilliant blue orbs, the reminder that Kageyama was not his hurt him more than he would have liked to admit. The thought made him look down, peeking through the small hole of the lid on his cup to watch the swarming brown substance lap around his cup.

"Um," claimed Kageyama, "Yeah..."

"Oh?" challenged Hinata, "Like what?"

The older man sat back, gripping his cup a little tighter. The drink warmed his hands and made his stomach feel warm. He was pondering how he could answer Hinata's question without hurting him.

"I'm... having dinner with... someone," he acknowledged stupidly. Hinata frowned in puzzlement for just a moment, but then his eyes were sinking down with the realization that Kageyama was referring, yet again, to his girlfriend.

"Oh," he whispered, and took another reasonable drink from his hot chocolate. He felt his heart burn, and it had nothing to do with the heat of his drink. 

Kageyama wanted to tell him how great she was. Sure, they'd had a brief encounter the day they met, but he wanted the youth to understand that the woman that was keeping him from being with Hinata truly made him happy, made him feel something he hadn't ever felt before. He wanted Hinata to understand just how incredible she truly was because, for some reason, having Hinata understand made him think that Shouyou would agree. Kageyama wished that the redhead could see just how brilliant she truly was, wanted them to meet and Hinata, too, would fall in love with her in another sense.

Hinata did not want to hear about her. The thought of some pretty girl hanging all over his soulmate made a lump in his throat appear. He didn't think he would ever get over the fact that Kageyama was dating someone else. As much as he wanted to be his friend, he absolutely did not want to meet Kiyoko. Deep in his heart, he didn't want to see how well the girl and Kageyama went together, wanted to believe that he was the only one for his soulmate. He had saved everything for Kageyama, but Kageyama didn't save anything for him.

Obviously, Kageyama had already had his first kiss and first love. Who knows if Kageyama and his girlfriend had already been intimate, another thing that Hinata was determined to keep safe until his soulmate stole it from him. But now, all of the years he spent alone felt meaningless; they /were/ meaningless. Hinata had fallen in love with his soulmate long ago, before he even knew who they were, and suddenly, the name on his wrist that felt scorching hot on his skin was too much to handle. His eyes welled up with tears.

Kageyama became blinded then, seeing Hinata suddenly start to cry. "Hinata?" he asked softly.

"I can't do this," Hinata cried, choking up as a tear ran down his cheek, "I'm sorry, I can't. I want to be your friend, really, I do. But I can't." He stood up suddenly, gripping his cup. Kageyama watched him, bewildered. "I've got to go," cried Hinata before he practically ran out of the building, going home.

Kageyama sat there, staring at the place Hinata had been sitting, stunned. His hands felt clammy and weak. He knew why Hinata was so upset, but what could he do to fix the problem? Leave the person that made him happiest and run away with some boy he'd only known for a few weeks? But Kageyama wasn't in love with him, he was in love with his girlfriend. Maybe the universe said that he should be with Hinata, but his heart felt different. 

He didn't know what to expect the day the number on his wrist turned to read zero. He had been watching the countdown in fear as it decreased. 

When the day had come, Kageyama woke up with Kiyoko by his side, his girlfriend whose wrist still read '4 years, 6 months, 17 days.' He rubbed his eyes and remembered that today was the day.

Today was the day he would reject his soulmate.

He quickly got ready without disturbing the sleeping girl in his bed. They had a few drinks too many the night before, and she ended up falling asleep before he could walk her home. Kageyama began to make her breakfast in his kitchen, biting his lip nervously. He wished that he would not meet his soulmate, that the universe would trick him and he wouldn't meet the other girl that he would have to decline. He shivered and did his best to shake the feeling away.

Kiyoko awakened and the two shared breakfast in silence. She knew what the day would bring; the pair had been discussing it for weeks. They'd come to the conclusion that they were in love, and that Kageyama would ditch the girl that would be his soulmate for her, instead. 

"Want to grab some coffee, Kageyama?" she asked sweetly, smiling at him lovingly. She wanted to meet his soulmate quickly, wanted to get the other girl out of the equation quickly.

Kageyama felt his stomach go numb. He didn't want to go out, but he figured that if they quickly went in and out, he wouldn't be faced with the torture of breaking some random girl's heart.

When they entered the coffee shop, Kageyama kept his eyes downcast. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone, prayed that his soulmate was not there. Kageyama told Kiyoko his order and she began to tell the man behind the counter.

But then, Kageyama heard a laugh and he couldn't help it; he looked to his right and saw a tall man. He was looking at someone in front of him, smiling. He wondered if it was that man that had made such an angelic laugh, but he quickly learned the truth when a much shorter person in front of him turned and they made eye contact.

The second Kageyama heard the ringing in his ears, he thought 'shit.' He could not look away from those eyes, possibly, although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen in his life. They were brown, like fresh topsoil. They had very bright, orange hair, and Kageyama thought it was an incredibly odd hair color. They were very short, too, a lot shorter than Kageyama.

But then Kageyama realized that this person, his soulmate, was in fact, not a girl, but very much a boy.

Kageyama felt his stomach churn a little in disgust. He was not at all gay and never would be. He thought that the universe must be playing a nasty trick on him. 

The ringing in his ears was becoming unbearable, so he slowly walked toward the boy and awkwardly touched his hand. It was surprisingly warm and thin.

"... Hello," Kageyama stated uncomfortably.

"... Hi." Kageyama loved the way the phrase sounded, but he stomped on the feeling quickly. He did not know what to say, didn't know how to tell the boy to back away because he was with someone else.

Suddenly, the boy let out a tiny laugh and smiled brightly. Kageyama's heart gave a wild jerk and he positioned himself uncomfortably. The boy looked at his wrist and then back to Kageyama. The taller man felt his eyes burn as he looked at him.

"Kageyama Tobio?" he said and oh god, he felt himself go weak at the way the boy said it, fragile and like it was the most astounding thing he'd ever said. Kageyama looked at his own wrist because it felt right, and saw that there was something entirely knew engraved on his skin.

"Hinata Shouyou," he stated firmly, and then it made sense for the boy to be so oddly bright when his name was practically 'sun'.

"I can't believe it's you," the boy was saying and then Kageyama remembered that this boy was about to be heartbroken. Kageyama suddenly didn't have the stomach to do so. He felt words escape his mouth and he silently knew that Kiyoko was waiting behind him, waiting for him to break the news. "I've been dreaming about this day since I was a kid," the boy said and Kageyama shifted awkwardly. He didn't know what to say. He might've heard his soulmate apologize for being straightforward, and he may have responded, but he couldn't remember what he'd said.

"Oh?" the boy smiled, "Who is this? Your sister?"

Kageyama felt his stomach churn. This was it. This was how he would tell his soulmate. He'd planned for this to go say many different ways, and this was certainly not one of them.

"No," Kageyama was saying, and his voice cracked, "She's... she's my girlfriend."

And there it was, the look of completely disappointed and sadness. He didn't think that the look the boy gave him would take this much of a toll on him. He watched as eyes turned wet and the boy began to shake. Kageyama wanted to apologize, but the words were trapped in his throat. The boy shakily smiled at him, weak and purely forced.

"Oh!" he said cheerfully, but it was clear that he was extremely confused and hurt, "Oh, how... nice."

"Hinata--" Kageyama called but he didn't know why. What was he supposed to say? This wasn't how he planned for this day to go at all.

"U-Um," Hinata said, shaky and broken, "I-I can give you my... my number and we can catch up some other time." Kageyama gave him his phone so that Shouyou could type his number in.

"You can join us," pleaded Kageyama unexpectedly, "We can still talk, the three of us--"

"No," the boy cried, "No, I've just realized I made plans." He suddenly would not look at Kageyama. The taller boy didn't know what to do. He didn't want Hinata to leave, wanted to explain himself like he had planned. But he could hear Hinata begin to sniffle.

"See you around," Hinata jerked out and then he was running out the door. Kageyama didn't stop him. He turned to Kiyoko, who was staring at him proudly.

"It's over with," she told him, "There's nothing more you can do."

But she was wrong. Kageyama had to do something. But what?

"Let's go sit, okay?" Kiyoko said and Kageyama nodded stiffly.

"That didn't go well," he muttered to her, "I... I didn't know what to say to him." He looked up at her, feeling weak, "He... my soulmate is a guy, Kiyoko. I don't understand."

"Yeah... I noticed, too. I didn't expect that."

"It's... disgusting," declared Kageyama finally, "I'm not... Kiyoko, I'm not--"

"I know you're not," she said comfortingly, "You're with me, and that's what matters."

But Kageyama could not shake the feeling of sorrow and longing in his heart. He was feeling so upset and sad for the boy. 

"He said he'd been dreaming about meeting me," recalled Kageyama, "... and I didn't even say anything. He wasn't even shaken by the fact that I'm a man."

Kiyoko did not know how to respond to her boyfriend. She, too, was feeling uncomfortable by the situation. 

"I don't know what to do," cried Kageyama softly, "I didn't even get a chance to explain myself."

"It's done with, Kageyama," she stated firmly, "Just let him go. We can pretend it didn't happen."

But, later that evening, as he lay in bed, Kageyama realized that he couldn't let it go. Of course, he wanted nothing to do with dating Hinata, but Hinata had been /dreaming/ of meeting him. How could he let him go that easily? How could he break his heart and then abandon him?

He settled with the idea of being his friend and, without thinking, called Hinata. When the other boy answered, he was surprised to hear that the boy didn't sound entirely sorrow. Kageyama didn't even expect him to answer at all. But now he was feeling determined to make Hinata feel better in anyway he could, wanted to befriend him. 

And he had. He considered Hinata his friend, as time began to pass. Kageyama thought things were going pretty well, but then Hinata had up and left him alone to cry. He was stunned, did not expect Hinata to suddenly break into to tears and run. He wanted to chase after him, wanted to hug Hinata and apologize over and over, but he couldn't.

But he certainly, more than anything, did not expect Yamaguchi to approach him with an angry look.

"What did you do to him?" he snapped and Kageyama blinked up at him in shock.

"... What?"

"He was crying," Yamaguchi growled, "What did you say to him?"

"N... Nothing. Truly, nothing."

"Nothing, my ass!" threatened Yamaguchi, and he leaned in closer to the man, whispering, "You may have Hinata fooled with your stupid 'I want to be your friend' shebang, but you're not fooling me. I swear to god, if you lay so much as a finger on him again, I will beat your ass to a pulp."

Kageyama widened his eyes at him. "I didn't mean to make him cry--"

"Save it," growled Yamaguchi, "You hurt my best friend, and that's enough for me to take a stand. I'm not going to stand by and watch him get hurt because you're a dick. Do us all a favor and stay the hell away from him." He backed up a little and finished, "I won't tell you again." He walked away then, swaggering back to the counter to finish restocking beans.

Kageyama swallowed hard. He was feeling angry then, but more hurt than anything. He stood up, throwing his drink away and walking out of the building. He couldn't explain the feeling in his chest, but he had no regrets when he pulled out the phone and dialed Hinata's number.

He answered immediately.

"Kageyama," the boy answered, and Kageyama felt his heart lurch uncomfortably when he heard the boy crying, "Please stop calling me. I can't--"

"I won't."

"... what?"

"I don't want to stop talking to you," breathe Kageyama. What was he saying? This was his opportunity to never see Hinata again. "I want to be your friend, Hinata. You... I can't be with you, Hinata, you know that. And I know it's selfish of me to want to keep talking to you, but... but I'm not trying to hurt you. Please, understand that. I want to stay being friends with you."

Hinata sniffled, "I can't, Kageyama."

"Please," pleaded Kageyama, "Please, give me another chance."

"I can't, Kageyama..."

"Why?"

Hinata hiccuped and cried out, "Because, I like you."

Kageyama stuttered, stopped walking to try and breathe properly.

"I'm sorry, Kageyama," sobbed Hinata, "I told myself not to like you because I knew nothing would come out of it, and... and I know we've only been talking a few weeks but... I like you. Not in a friend way. And I know you'll never like me back, and it just... sucks being around you. My heart can't take it."

"Hinata..."

"Please... please, just leave me alone."

Kageyama suddenly shouted, "I won't!"

Hinata stopped crying. "What?"

"I can't," Kageyama growled, "I can't stop being you friend."

"... What?"

"I... I like being around you, Hinata. I know it must hurt you, but... but it hurts me, too, not having you as my friend. I know that we haven't been talking long, but I know that you're fun and cool and... and a good friend. I don't want to stop talking to you," Kageyama swallowed, "That's a selfish thing to say, I know... but..." he took a deep breath, "But I'll do everything I can to get you to stop liking me. Whatever it takes, I want you as a friend." He closed his eyes, "Please... please try and be my friend, Hinata. Give me another chance. I'll do better."

Hinata said nothing, sniffling. "How?" asked Hinata, "I can't just throw away my feelings, Kageyama."

"I know," hurried Kageyama, "I don't want you to. I want you to embrace your feelings in a knew way... find a way to make your version of 'like' into my kind of 'like.'" The taller boy let out a long sigh, "I know you can do it, Hinata. Just... let's try again. Don't give up on me. I won't give up on you."

Hinata took a deep breath, voice shaky. "But... but you think it's disgusting, don't you? It's disgusting--"

"What?"

Hinata let out a little hiccup, "I mean... we're both guys, right? And... and I never cared if you were a guy or not, I told myself that I would want to be with you no matter what. But... it's not the same for you, right? You think that two guys together is a joke--"

"Why are you saying that? I've never said anything like that."

He heard Shouyou breathe harshly into the receiver, "I can tell... from the way you look at me, when we first met. You were expecting some cute girl, huh? I'm sorry--"

"Hinata," snipped Kageyama, "I... you're right. I wasn't expecting my soulmate to be a boy, okay? You're right. I was stumped when I first saw you. And... I did think it... was joke, and that it was disgusting--"

"So," started Hinata, "So that's why it's better for you to leave me be, Kageyama. I... I like you so much--"

"I'm sorry... that I can't return your feelings. But I... I don't think it's disgusting. Not anymore."

"What?" 

Kageyama gripped his phone tighter, "I... I can't change that fact that you like me. I'll accept your feelings but... I can't return them, you know that. But I'm not going to push you away because of that, Hinata. I don't know how to make you not like me anymore--"

"That's the thing, Kageyama. Feelings... they don't ever go away, not really. So it probably doesn't matter if you hate me or hurt me... I'll still like you. You're my soulmate."

"You... like me because I'm your soulmate?" asked Kageyama, and he felt slightly hurt but could identify why.

"No, that's not it," rebuked Hinata, "I mean, yes, I like you for that reason, but it's more than that. Y-You're funny and cool, you like volleyball like I do... we have so many common interests and... and my heart beats so fast when you're near me. God, it's creepy for me to be saying such things, right? We haven't even been talking that long... maybe it really is destiny for us to be soulmates."

Kageyama said nothing, breathing hard. How was he supposed to respond? He liked Hinata, he really did, but... 

"I'm sorry," apologized Kageyama, because he could think of nothing else to say, "Truly, I am. But I'll try my hardest to be better to you."

"Kageyama... why do you care so much? The day we met, you wanted nothing to do with me, but now... now you're acting like if I stop talking to you, it'll be the worst thing in the world."

"Didn't I already tell you, dummy?" said Kageyama softly, "I... want to know you. I can't explain it, but... but when our eyes met that day... I just knew. I knew that I needed you to stay by my side."

Hinata said nothing. The two remained silent for a few moments, simply listening to the gentle breeze that flew through their ears that was the two of them breathing through the phone.

"Come with Kiyoko and I for dinner tonight," demanded Kageyama suddenly, "Meet her properly."

The other boy still said nothing. Kageyama desperately wished he would say something.

"... Okay."

***

"I can't believe you," snapped Kiyoko, "You told me you hadn't spoken to him since the day you met him!"

"I know," said Kageyama, "I know I lied to you. But... he's cool, Kiyoko. Really, he's so... amazing. He's a good friend. I want you to like him, too."

Kiyoko frowned, "I'm not sure about this."

"Please," begged Kageyama, "Just... just meet him, okay? Talk to him. He... he's an important part of my life. And he's not just going to disappear," he told her, "So... try to embrace him like I'm trying to do. You're my girlfriend, and I want your support."

Kiyoko ran a hand through her dark hair. "... Fine. But he'd better not try anything."

"He won't," grinned Kageyama, "Thank you, Kiyoko, for doing this. Thank you."

They arrived at the restaurant they were all meeting at and Kiyoko and Kageyama waited patiently for Hinata to arrive. Or, rather, Kageyama waited patiently while Kiyoko complained about his tardiness.

"Be nice," he told her, and she looked away. A moment later and the smaller, gingery boy was walking through the door.

"Hinata," he breathed with a wide smile. He approached him quickly, muttering, "Hi."

"Hello..." Hinata said back. He wouldn't look at Kageyama.

"Uhm," Kageyama stumbled, "Hinata, this is Kiyoko. Kiyoko... Hinata."

"Hello," greeted Hinata politely.

"Hi," snapped Kiyoko and Kageyama gave her a daring look.

They were seated, and Hinata sat awkwardly across from the pair. Kageyama glanced between the two of them awkwardly.

"Um... what do you think you're going to order, Hinata?" asked Kageyama, "You can get anything you want, okay? It's on me."

"Oh," blushed Hinata, "No, that's okay. I can pay for myself--"

"Hinata," stated Kageyama firmly and Hinata turned pink, "I want to, okay? Let me treat you."

Hinata's eyes flickered to Kiyoko, who was currently crossing her arms. Kageyama knew she was very angry.

"Let me," demanded Kageyama again and Hinata met eyes with him. Kageyama had never seen the look in his eyes before, feeling rather upset by the look.

"... Thanks," whispered Hinata, and he looked in his lap again. Kageyama glanced at Kiyoko again, who was shooting daggers at Hinata with her eyes. Kageyama grew very angry with her, but tried to understand how she was feeling.

Hinata surprised Kageyama by asking, "What are you going to get, Kageyama?"

"I don't know," answered Kageyama warmly, "What looks good to you?"

Hinata bit his lip, "Um... normally I just get chicken tenders. Or soup."

"Get both," Kageyama told him, "I'll get the same."

The boy sitting across the table looked at him, eyes a little bright. Kageyama gave him a very tiny smile, and was a little shocked when Hinata began to smile a little at him, too.

Kiyoko, however, was not having any of that. She let out a disgusted noise.

"Could you not flirt with my boyfriend, please?"

Hinata and Kageyama snapped their necks to look at her, eyes big and wild.

"It's disgusting," she snapped, "Stop looking at him that way."

Kageyama turned to look at her fully, "Kiyoko--"

"Oh, come on, Kageyama!" she yelled, "He's looking at you with goo goo eyes. It's outrageous!"

"I-I wasn't--" started Hinata, but Kiyoko cut him off.

"I don't care if you're his soulmate or not!" she snapped, "Kageyama is mine. Don't you understand that?"

Hinata looked down. Kiyoko stood up suddenly. 

"I'd better not ever see you with my boyfriend again," she challenged, "Or I'll literally chop off your stupid, pathetic dick." She stormed out then, leaving Kageyama and Hinata stunned.

The smaller boy held his face in his hands. Kageyama did not know what to say.

Hinata said nothing, pushing his chair back and standing up. Kageyama's chair squeaked as his chair moved back. He threw his arm out, grabbing onto Hinata's arm before he could run away.

"Wait," he said. Hinata put his hands down, and Kageyama felt a lump form in his throat when he saw that Hinata had begun to cry.

"I told you," he whimpered weakly, "I told you." He made to move out of Kageyama's grasp again, but Kageyama gripped tighter.

"Stay," he said, "Please."

"She'll be angry," cried Hinata, "I'm not worth it, Kageyama. You should go to her."

"No," Kageyama responded, "I want to stay here with you." 

Hinata shook his head. "Don't you see, Kageyama? The... the universe made a mistake or something. I'm not supposed to... to be with you, as your friend or not."

"You're wrong," answered Kageyama. He didn't know why he clung so desperately to Hinata, could not explain the feeling in his chest when Hinata was in his sight. Without thinking, he said, "Forget about her. I don't care what she says. I want to be your friend," the taller boy swallowed, "I'm going to have a long talk with her later, don't worry."

Hinata wiped some tears from his eyes. "Why're you doing this?"

"What?"

"Why're you trying so hard to be my friend?" asked Hinata, "I don't understand."

Kageyama loosened his grip on Hinata, pondering the question. He didn't know the answer, couldn't explain why he was so stuck on the boy in front of him. He took a deep breath.

"I don't know," he whispered.

Hinata nodded knowingly, "It's because you pity me, right?"

Kageyama's eyes snapped to his. "What?"

"Yeah, that's right," Hinata whispered, backing away, "You feel guilty that you can't date me, so you're trying to make yourself feel better by befriending me."

"Hinata--"

"God... I should have known."

"That's not--"

"That's the reason and you know it," croaked Hinata. He turned to walk away and Kageyama grabbed at him again. He used both hands to take Hinata by the shoulders. "Don't touch--"

"That's not it!" snapped Kageyama and Hinata recoiled a little. The taller man blinked, heart burning, "I... I can't explain it, Hinata, but... but I need you to be my friend. I'm not pitying you or whatever... I'm not trying to lead you on. I... I like you, Hinata. Maybe not the same way you like me, but I know that... that the universe put us together for a reason. I'm not going to let you get away. I don't care if Kiyoko or Yamaguchi don't like us being friends--"

"Yamaguchi?"

"I'll explain later," hurried Kageyama, "I'm not going to abandon you, Hinata. I want to be your friend no matter what. I... I don't know what's come over me. But I know that I need you to just... stay with me, okay? Forget about our friends. They don't matter. Just... just sit with me now and talk to me, like we always do."

Hinata blinked up at him, sighing loudly.

"You're so difficult," muttered Hinata. Kageyama smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry for what Kiyoko said to you," Kageyama apologized on her behalf, "Forget what she said. I'm very angry with her for not giving you a chance. But don't worry about that now. Just... sit with me for now. Let's just forget about everything else. We're just two friends having dinner together. Okay?"

Hinata looked down. "Fine."

They sat back down. Nor Kageyama or Hinata could explain the feelings that wandered over them that evening as they sat down. No matter what he said, Hinata could not imagine the reason to why Kageyama was so desperately anxious about being friends with him. But neither boy had an answer. Kageyama just... wanted to be his friend. That was that.

Although neither of them allowed Kiyoko's sudden outburst to leave their minds, Kageyama and Hinata did their best to focus on their friendship, instead. Hinata was feeling slightly nervous about being around Kageyama, but the other boy made him laugh and so the feeling resided a little.

"Um... I know we aren't supposed to be talking about ours friends right now, but... did Yamaguchi... say something to you?" asked Hinata as they finished off their food.

"Yeah... I don't think he likes me," chuckled Kageyama nervously. He explained what happened earlier that day and Hinata groaned.

"He's so overprotective! I'm sorry he said that, Kageyama."

"It's okay," Kageyama answered, "He's looking after you." He suddenly looked down at his near empty plate, "And... I'm sorry about Kiyoko, Hinata. Really, I am."

Hinata looked away, "Um... she has a reason to be mad, I guess."

"No, she doesn't," said Kageyama angrily, "I can't believe she did that. She's... a nice girl, really. She... she's just jealous of you."

Hinata snapped his head up. "What? She couldn't be!"

"She is," sighed Kageyama, "She... she's feeling uneasy that we know each other. She hasn't met her soulmate yet, see? So... I don't know. She doesn't like that I want to be your friend."

The redhead sat back in his chair. "I don't think she has any reason to be jealous..." then he added, "She's very pretty."

Kageyama smiled, "I'll be sure to tell her you said that. But... don't worry, I won't bring her around as much. I like hanging out with you alone, anyway."

Hinata grinned at him and Kageyama felt his heart give a lurch. 

A while later and Kageyama was paying for their dinner. Hinata thanked him again, and the two of them walked out of the building. The sky was growing dark.

"Text me about that movie, okay?" Kageyama told him, "I'd like to go."

Shouyou tilted his head a little and nodded. "Are you... are you sure?"

"Of course," responded Kageyama, "I want to hang out with you again. Really, I do."

"Okay," Hinata nodded, looking away, "I'll text you."

The taller man apologized for his girlfriend's behavior again, and Hinata brushed it off. They said good night and went there separate ways. Kageyama silently wished the night wouldn't end; he wanted to hang out with Hinata longer. 

***

Kageyama made a pact to never let Kiyoko and Hinata encounter one another again. The night that the three of them had gone out for dinner, Kageyama got into a rather huge fight with his girlfriend. The details of the scenario were one that Kageyama would soon forget, but he ended up not speaking to her for four days.

But that was over four months ago. Kageyama and Hinata had grown to become the greatest of friends by now, and Kageyama was truly beginning to realize just why Hinata was destined to be in his life. The other man was the coolest person he'd ever met. He felt something deep inside of him untangle when he was with Hinata, but he couldn't explain the feeling. He just liked being with Hinata, found himself dreaming about when he'd see the other boy next. Kageyama and Hinata would often end up texting the night away, and talking on the phone to kill time when they couldn't see each other in person.

The coffee shop that Hinata worked at was becoming Kageyama's favorite place. Any day that Hinata worked, Kageyama was there. Shouyou had started to expect the boy to come in to see him and would prepare him a coffee or a hot chocolate. On days that Yamaguchi worked with Hinata, the brunette would give him a threatening look. Ever since Kageyama had admitted that Yamaguchi had very stubbornly yelled at him the day they'd had hot chocolate together, Hinata was very careful when the two were around one another. Hinata ended up having a long talk with Yamaguchi, and the other man apologized to Kageyama, but still deemed him untrustworthy.

But Kageyama would give him a kind smile, anyway, and Yamaguchi would look away with a haughty look. Hinata would nudge him a little, but it always resulted in Yamaguchi storming away. The black-haired man and the ginger would snicker a little. Nothing could spoil the two of them being around one another.

One day, when the chilly air of winter was finally residing into an enjoyable breeze, Kageyama finally offered something the both boys had been waiting for for a long time.

"Really?!" gasped Hinata when Kageyama called him that morning.

"Yeah! Besides, I've been dying to practice with you," Kageyama told him.

"Then... then yeah, I'd love to!" Hinata breathed, "But I'm working tonight. Can we do it tomorrow?"

"I'm working an early shift tomorrow," Kageyama asked, "Is tomorrow afternoon okay?"

"Yep, that works!" Hinata told him over the phone, "Then... I'll see you tomorrow, Kageyama."

"Yeah," answered Kageyama before he hung up, "See you then, Hinata."

Kageyama threw his phone beside him on his bed. After what seemed like forever, he finally had the opportunity to play volleyball with Hinata, something that both of them had been wanting to do for some time. The two of them nearly always talked about volleyball since it was the sport the two of them enjoyed most. 

Hinata was slowly growing accustomed to hanging around Kageyama without thinking his heart would be torn apart. He could not hide or bury his feelings for his taller soulmate, but he'd long since grown used to being around the other man.

Kageyama was growing to like Hinata more and more. He had long mended things with Kiyoko, and, even though she'd grow upset when he told her he was hanging out with Hinata that day, she wouldn't push the subject. Though occasionally she would complain that Kageyama was choosing Hinata over her, but he didn't care. He spent plenty of time with Kiyoko, and, to put it simply, he found that he had more fun when he hung out with Hinata. He loved Kiyoko, but she didn't care about volleyball much. Kageyama tried to get her to play, but she refused.

And so, the next day when Hinata and Kageyama were walking toward the park to play, Kageyama was glad that someone finally wanted to play with him.

"Don't laugh at me if I suck, okay?" Hinata told him that sunny afternoon, "It's been a while since someone's wanted to play with me. Yamaguchi gave up playing in high school."

"Don't worry, I won't laugh. And don't be discouraged if I'm better than you, okay? I'm practically the best setter in all of Japan--"

"Shut up," laughed Hinata and Kageyama laughed along with him. "I packed sandwiches, by the way, in case we want to eat later."

Kageyama had not thought about that and thanked Hinata for thinking to pack a snack. He was carrying a volleyball under his arm, making his way over the dry grass with Hinata.

The ginger set his bag down under a tree while Kageyama stared up at the sky. It was cool outside and rather sunny; the perfect day to play volleyball.

"Okay," Hinata told him, "I'm ready when you are."

"Right," Kageyama said, clearing his throat. He took the ball in his hands and grinned a little down at the object. He was suddenly bumping it toward Hinata, who bumped it back a little off to the side.

"Shoot," cursed Hinata, "Sorry, I should've warned you. My recieves are garbage."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Quiet, you."

They hit the ball back and forth for a while. Hinata had a bit of trouble hitting the ball back toward him straight.

"Hinata," Kageyama told him, "Bend your knees more and hit less toward your elbows."

"Okay, Master," Hinata replied teasingly. Kageyama rolled his eyes and hit the ball back toward him. Hinata took the other boy's advice and was surprised to see he actually had more control with Kageyama's words.

"Wow!" Hinata gasped, bewildered, "Did you see that receive, Kageyama?!"

"Yeah," Kageyama smirked, "It was pretty mediocre."

Hinata looked at him sternly, "That was a good receive, you prick!"

Tobio chuckled loudly. Hinata bit his lip.

"Hey... can you toss me some balls?"

The taller boy licked over his dry bottom lip. Hinata quickly explained,

"I really like to spike the ball... it's my favorite! But, uhm, it's hard to set the ball, so... can you toss to me?"

Kageyama smiled. He loved to set. "Okay, Hinata. Sure."

Shouyou looked up at him brightly. "Really?! You will?"

"Of course. Get in position."

The orange-haired man readied himself. "Okay, go for it."

Kageyama took a deep breath. He had no idea how high he should toss, but he figured that Hinata was pretty short, so he made his decision and tossed the ball up.

However, Kageyama quickly realized that he did not toss the ball nearly high enough. Hinata seemingly /flew/ up into the air, the highest jump that Kageyama had ever seen. Hinata touched back down, clicking his tongue.

"Jeez, I'm not that short, asshole!"

Kageyama was blinking rapidly, "Wow... you... jump really high."

Hinata crossed his arms impressively, "Yeah, I'm pretty hardcore."

The raven-haired man was brought back down to reality. He let out a bark of a laugh. "Alright, don't get full of yourself, dumbass! Let's try that again."

Kageyama tossed the ball again, setting it up much higher. Hinata jumped high up in the air, concentrating. A second later and the ball was slapping over Kageyama's head, colliding hard with the ground. Hinata landed and laughed loudly.

"Wow!" cheered Hinata, "That was awesome!"

Kageyama was rather stunned, couldn't believe the force that Hinata had when he jumped off the ground.

"It's been so long since I was able to do that," pondered Hinata, "Kageyama, you're so cool!"

Tobio rested his shoulders, turning pink. "I-Idiot... get the ball and we'll try again."

They played for nearly two hours, bumping the ball back and forth and tossing and spiking. Kageyama couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.

"Hey, do you want to take a little break?" asked Hinata suddenly. He was panting hard, clearly worn out. His hands were feeling blistered and he was sore. It'd been so long since he had played volleyball that his stamina was weaker than it had ever been.

Kageyama wanted to continue playing, but they made their way to under the tree Hinata had planted his stuff at, anyway. They sat side-by-side against the tree, comfortably close. Hinata pulled out the sandwiches and gave one to his friend.

The taller shifted to rest more comfortably against the tree and their shoulders were suddenly touching. Hinata blushed heavily but Kageyama hardly seemed to notice. He began to eat the sandwich, resting his head back against the tree. Hinata watched him chew and then swallow, feeling hot at the way Kageyama's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Hinata quickly looked away, blushing hotly. He grabbed a juice box from his bag and offered it to Kageyama. 

"Thanks," Kageyama muttered and then stuck the straw in the pouch before sucking it down. Hinata watched his throat again, suddenly wanting to kiss over it and bite and his neck.

The shorter boy quickly looked away, mentally slapping himself. Hinata quietly told himself to push his feelings back down, lock them away in his heart. He took a few deep breaths and bit into his sandwich. He did not look at Kageyama again, but allowed his shoulder to remain touching the older boy comfortably. It soothed some of the aching in his heart.

The two finished their sandwiches quietly. Hinata offered Kageyama a second one and was glad the older man took it; he wanted to touch Kageyama for a while longer.

The two played another hour before the both felt too tired to play any longer. The sky was already beginning to settle for the day.

"That was a lot of fun," the both admitted.

"I want to play with you again, Hinata," Kageyama said, "I love playing with you... even if we've only been playing for a day, I think, out of everyone I've practiced with, practicing with you has been the most fun by far."

Hinata smiled and felt his cheeks turn tomato red. Kageyama was so cool.

"Thanks... I feel the same. I like playing with you more than I liked playing with Yamaguchi," he answered truthfully and Kageyama felt astoundingly proud in that moment.

"Will you play with me again, then?" asked Kageyama.

"Of course!" giggled Hinata and Kageyama felt his heart tug in his chest. He washed away the feeling quickly.

"Hey, um," asked Kageyama suddenly, as they began to walk out of the park and to their cars, "I'm having a party about my house next week."

Hinata looked up from where he had been searching for his car keys. "Oh?"

"Yeah," breathed Kageyama nervously, "Will you... will you come?"

The smaller boy looked away. "I... I don't know."

"You can bring Yamaguchi," suggested Kageyama, "And Tsukishima, too." He figured Hinata would feel more comfortable if his friends were there, plus, he needed to formally apologize to Yamaguchi.

"Um... I'm not very fun at parties," explained Hinata, "Plus... I don't think... Kiyoko would want me there."

Kageyama stopped in his tracks. "Don't worry about her."

The shorter boy looked up at him wearily, "But--"

"It's okay," Kageyama told him. He desperately wanted Hinata to come. "Really, it's okay. I'll... she'll leave you alone. I guarantee it."

Hinata looked unsure. Kageyama finished, "I want you there, Hinata. Please come."

"Have you told her I'm coming?"

Kageyama looked away. "No... but don't worry, I don't care if she doesn't like it!" he added hurriedly, "I want you there. That's all that matters."

Hinata blushed, looking away. "... Okay."

***

"What do you mean you're not coming?!"

"If that stupid boy is going to be there, then I'm not going!" argued Kiyoko.

"I can't believe you," snapped Kageyama, "I told you, he's a good person!"

"Ever since you met that boy, you've been spending less time with me! Do you even care about me?"

"Of course I do!" answered Kageyama, exasperated, "I want you to be at this party, Kiyoko."

"Well, tell that boy he can't come and I will gladly attend."

Kageyama tugged on his own hair, "You're unbelievable." 

"I mean it, Kageyama, I won't go!"

The taller boy watched her as she walked down the hall, away from him. Suddenly, he was shouting,

"You know what? Fine! Don't come! I don't give a shit!" Kageyama slammed the door to her apartment shut as he left. The party was tomorrow and he was angry that his girlfriend was backing out because he'd invited Hinata. He wanted the two of them to get along more than anything, but she wouldn't stop refusing to meet Hinata. 

Tobio slammed his car door shut and let out a frustrated cry. He rested his head on the stirring wheel. He was sick of his girlfriend, sick of her being so cold to Hinata and cold to him when he mentioned his soulmate. He let out a low sigh, rubbing over his face. What was he going to do? He knew that if he told Hinata he couldn't come, the youth would think he was a burden to Kageyama and never speak to him again.

The thought of Hinata never talking to him again made his heart drop. He grabbed at his own chest, swallowing hard. He liked Hinata and didn't want his friend to stop talking to him. The thought of it happening sounded like a death sentence to him.

Kageyama leaned back in his seat. He dialed Hinata's phone number and waited impatiently for the boy to pick up.

"Kageyama?" the other boy asked when he picked up, puzzled, "I'm about to clock in for work."

"Kiyoko's sick," lied Kageyama, "So she won't be coming to the party tomorrow."

"Oh, no," Hinata complied, "I'm sorry to hear that... is there anything I can do to help?"

"Tell me you're still coming," demanded Kageyama, closing his eyes, "You're still coming, right?"

"Oh, of course! Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are coming, too."

Kageyama suddenly didn't care that the boy's friends were coming. As long as Hinata was there, that was all he needed.

"Good," Kageyama sighed.

Hinata remained silent for a moment before he asked, "Are you okay, Kageyama? I have to go soon..."

The older man scratched at his thigh, "Y-Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay. I'm upset that Kiyoko isn't coming, but it's okay." He sucked in a breath before adding, "I'm having a lot of my friends over, obviously, but don't feel intimidated by them, okay? They're cool."

"Oh, of course not," answered Hinata, "I'm looking forward to meeting them." He heard Hinata shuffle a bit before he said, "Kageyama? I'm sorry, but I've got to go into work now."

Kageyama paused a minute. "What time do you get off?"

Hinata pondered the question, a little surprised. "Eleven. Why?"

"Can you call me when you get off?"

"... Of course I will, Kageyama."

"Good," said Kageyama, starting up the car, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, 'Yama."

Kageyama squeezed his eyes shut, heart hammering at the nickname.

"Bye... Shou."

***

Kageyama let a couple more of his guests inside of his house. He was a little disappointed that Hinata wasn't standing there when he answered the door. He really wanted the boy to be there, texted him several times to find out exactly where he was so that he could see him.

From: Hinata

relax, we are almost there lol. shouldn't u be entertaining ur guests?

Tobio smiled down at the text, nibbling on his lip. He was leaning against the wall, hardly listening as his friends mingled around him.

"Hey, Kageyama!" 

The man looked up when he heard his name and looked ahead, putting his phone in his pocket. 

"Hey, Kindaichi, what's up?"

"Long time no see!" the other man said. He was broad, tan, and had dark-hair. "What's been up with you? How's your girlfriend?"

Kageyama clicked his tongue, "She's not coming. She... she's sick."

"Ah, man!" Kindaichi laughed, "I was hoping I could steal her away from you. Now I'm not gonna have any fun!"

Kageyama laughed along awkwardly. He didn't want to think about Kiyoko, eyes constantly drifting toward his door, as though it would suddenly knock and Hinata would appear if he looked hard enough. He wished Hinata was there more than anything.

There was a light thumping as music played in his living room. There were already people getting smashed, sipping drink after drink.

"Oikawa!" snapped Kageyama suddenly, "Slow down or you'll get pissed!"

Oikawa waved his hand at the other man, "Don't worry about me, Kageyama. I'll control myself."

The dark-haired man rolled his eyes. At that moment, there was a loud knock on the door. Kageyama's heart jumped and he hurried toward the front door. He felt incredibly relieved when he opened the door and Hinata and his two friends were standing on his porch.

"Hi, Kageyama."

"Finally," said Kageyama warmly, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming. Come in."

The three of them entered his home. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were eyeing him suspiciously, but Kageyama didn't pay them any mind. He closed the door and immediately grabbed Hinata's shoulder, showing them around. 

"There's drinks in the kitchen," Kageyama told them and Tsukishima grabbed Yamaguchi's hand and announced that the two of them would be in the kitchen in anyone needed them. Kageyama was glad they left, now alone with Hinata.

"I'm glad you came," he breathed and Hinata smiled.

"I'm glad to be here. Thanks for inviting us."

"Should I introduce you to some of my friends?"

"Okay," Hinata nodded. Kageyama, still guiding Hinata by the shoulder, took the smaller man into his living room. The music had been turned up a little.

Kageyama introduced him to nearly all of his friends. Some of them eyed his suspiciously, but a majority of them tried shoving drinks in his hands to be friendly. Hinata laughed it off nervously.

"This is Oikawa," Kageyama said finally, and the man stopped from where he had been drinking to eye Hinata.

"Damn," the older one said. He stepped closer to the shorter boy, "Kageyama didn't tell me he had /cute/ friends."

Hinata blushed lightly. Kageyama felt an uncomfortable lurch dig into his stomach.

"N-Nice to meet you," Hinata whispered quietly, and then he reached up and tucked a hair behind his ear.

Oikawa licked his lips. "If you get bored hanging out with Kageyama, you know where to find me."

Hinata blushed again and Kageyama quickly lead the shorter man as far away from Oikawa as possible. 

They found their own corner and Kageyama told him to wait there while he went and got him a drink. He bounded his way to the kitchen and wasn't surprised to see Yamaguchi and Tsukishima lurking inside.

The two eyed him. Kageyama smiled.

"Are you guys having fun?"

They exchanged a look.

"Yeah," said Yamaguchi, "Thanks for the invite."

Kageyama shifted a little, pouring himself and Hinata a drink.

"H... Hinata's a cool guy, isn't he?" asked Kageyama. It took the other two by surprise.

"Well, yeah, he's our best friend," snapped Yamaguchi. Kageyama smiled.

"I... I like hanging out with him," admitted Kageyama, "I've never met someone so cool." 

Yamaguchi softened a little as he gazed at the older boy. Tsukishima continued to rub a hand over Yamaguchi's shoulder.

"I hate to admit it," Yamaguchi said gently, "But he really likes hanging with you, too. I'm sort of jealous. We've been friends since childhood but he already prefers you over me."

Kageyama grinned a little, heart hammering. 

"He... he's really something, isn't he?"

Tsukki and Yamaguchi shared a look. "What're you saying?"

Kageyama looked down. What was he thinking?

"He... I think I..."

Yamaguchi widened his eyes at him. "You think... you what?"

Kageyama shook his head a little, trying to shake away the thoughts that circled his mind. What had he just been thinking as Hinata had entered his mind? He'd never had such a thought before, not even with Kiyoko.

Kageyama said nothing more, forgetting his previous thoughts and straightened up with two cups and gave them each a curt little nod. Yamaguchi looked at him, bewildered. Was Kageyama about to say what he thought he was going to say?

Kageyama left the room, making his way back to Hinata.

When he entered the room, he was a little distraught to find that two of his friends were surrounding him.

"Wow, you're small. Are you a high schooler?"

"N-No..."

"I can't believe we've never met before."

"Guys," growled Kageyama, "Leave him be." He squeezed between the two of them and smiled down at Shouyou, who took one of the cups from his hand. Hinata gulped it down, tongue burning at the taste. 

Kageyama's friends left the two of them alone to sip on their drinks.

"Is the music too loud for you?" asked Kageyama. Hinata shook his head.

"To be honest with you... I've never been to a party," he smirked apologetically, "So I'm sorry if I'm a little awkward."

"You're fine," Kageyama told him reassuringly, "My friends seem to like you, too."

Hinata chuckled nervously, "They seem cool."

The two of them stood beside each other, enjoying their drinks and mingling like normal. Suddenly, Kageyama didn't care at all that his girlfriend decided not to show up.

As the night progressed, Kageyama and Hinata found that spending time with each other was the most fun. The pair went from talking to dancing wildly in the middle of the floor. They were laughing uncontrollably hard, dancing around with the rest of Kageyama's friends. The pair of them were awful at dancing, but that's what made it so much fun. One of his friends turned up the music so loud that it thumped in their ears.

"You're terrible at this!" shouted Hinata, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"You're one to talk, dumbass!" called Kageyama back. Hinata was beginning to grow sweaty and Kageyama noticed. He watched as his hair dampened in the front, closing his eyes and raising his hands up in the air to throw them around wildly. Kageyama bit his lip.

The song changed into an even louder one, and Kageyama couldn't help himself. He gripped Hinata by the waist, suddenly craving to touch the younger boy. Hinata froze.

The taller boy gripped one of his hands and began to dance again to the music. Hinata slowly began dancing again. His heart was beating a mile a minute. Kageyama was smiling so proudly down at him while holding him. He was incredibly close. Hinata tried his best to resume his previous dance, jumping up and down and shaking his hips, but he could not focus when the man he loved was so close to him.

But Kageyama wouldn't let up, closing his eyes to keep from doing something drastic. Hinata closed his eyes, too, couldn't handle looking at Kageyama. The pair continued to dance, and Hinata allowed Kageyama to spin him around once. The pair laughed at that.

When the song ended, they opened their eyes and stopped swaying. Hinata was laughing loudly, staring up at him in adoration. Kageyama felt his heart give a harsh squeeze, like it was trying to release something deep inside him. His smile faded as he stared intensely down at Hinata. Hinata suddenly dropped his smile, too, staring up at Kageyama with soft eyes.

The two stood staring at each other as another song played, causing the other guests to begin jumping around to a knew beat. But the pair remained still. Hinata let go of Kageyama's hand and rested it on Kageyama's shoulder instead, drawing him closer. Kageyama leaned in closer, mere inches from Hinata. Their eyes remained locked to one another and Hinata softened his harsh gaze a little. Kageyama could not help but think that Hinata was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen at that second.

However, Kageyama's brain finally caught up with his heart, and he gulped, picking up Hinata's hand and drifting it away from his shoulder.

"I'm... I'm going to get another drink," he announced, pulling away from Hinata and making his way through the light crowd. Hinata stood still, dazed. He felt his heart give away, and he closed his eyes, fighting tears.

"Stop liking him," he whispered to himself, "Stop."

"Wow, he left you here all by yourself?"

Hinata snapped his eyes open. Oikawa was standing in front of him.

"I'll dance with you," he teased, grabbing Hinata's hip. The smaller boy made to push him away, but he suddenly decided against the idea. He smiled weakly up at Oikawa, grabbing at him and swaying with him, closing his eyes and silently imagining it was still Kageyama pressed so close to him. The taller boy was a little surprised that Hinata complied, but he questioned it no further and began to dance with the shorter male.

Kageyama stopped outside the kitchen door, leaning against the wall. He told himself to cool off, closing his eyes. His heart was beating so harshly in his chest, as though there were something deep inside of him trying to escape. But he swallowed the feeling, begged for it to disappear. He felt over his chest, opening his eyes and feeling suddenly upset. What was he about to do? Why were his mind and heart racing so quickly? Why did Hinata's eyes look so sincere and pretty in that moment? Why was his skin so smooth as he embraced him? Why did Hinata's lips look so positively plump and soft as they eyed one another?

Kageyama felt his heart give a lurch, and he realized that the thoughts he was having in the kitchen earlier in front of Tsukki and Yamaguchi were definitely confirmed. His eyes snapped open. He had to tell them, had to tell Hinata.

He entered the kitchen, freezing immediately.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were still inside. But this time, they were embracing one another, lips locked and eyes closed. Kageyama watched them in shock.

They suddenly pulled away, widening their eyes at Kageyama.

"Oh," Yamaguchi muttered, "Sorry, Kageyama."

Kageyama didn't answer for a minute. "Uh... it's fine..."

Tsukishima glared at him and Yamaguchi snickered. He stopped, however, when he saw Kageyama's expression.

"Hey... you okay? I know that you walked in on us just now, but you seem a little flushed."

Kageyama's eyes snapped to Yamaguchi's and he blinked harshly, taking a deep breath.

"Oh... oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm alright."

Yamaguchi tilted his head at him, sensing something wrong immediately. Kageyama felt over his heart, closing his eyes again and trying to stop the pounding deep inside. But nothing soothed him.

"Kageyama?"

"I'm going to find Hinata," Kageyama announced sharply, and then he was turning out of the kitchen again to find the shorter boy. He had to tell him, had to tell him the truth.

The first place he looked was the place he'd left the other boy. He expected to find Hinata dancing quietly or even sitting on the couch, but he didn't see him anywhere. Kageyama checked the corner they'd mingled in earlier, but Hinata was not there, either. He swam through dancing, grinding bodies, but didn't find him there, either.

Someone bumped into him and Kageyama turned around. He was distraught when he found it wasn't Hinata.

"Hey!" shouted Kageyama over the loud music, "Kindaichi!"

The other man whipped around, bouncing wildly. "Awesome party, man!" he yelled back and Kageyama shook his head.

"Have you seen Hinata?"

"What?"

Kageyama rolled his eyes, "The boy that I introduced you to earlier! Have you seen him?"

Kindaichi smirked, eyeing Kageyama. "I saw him with Oikawa earlier," he told him, coming close so that Kageyama would hear him over the pounding music, "I think they went upstairs."

Kageyama froze, looking deep into Kindaichi's eyes with horror. "What?!"

The other man laughed loudly, turning around and whooping as he continued to dance atrociously. Kageyama flipped around, hurriedly making his way out of the crowd. Hot bodies enveloped him, and Kageyama prayed that his suspicions were wrong. He practically ran from the living room, running into Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

"Kageyama?" they asked worriedly.

"Move," he begged, "Please, I've got to find him."

"Find who?"

"Hinata!" he cried, and then he pushed them away and ran toward the stairs. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima stared at him in shock, eyes turning toward one another. They set their cups down and ran after the taller boy, who was taking two steps at a time.

Kageyama panted, sprinting up the stairs and rounding the corner. His eyes widened loudly.

Oikawa had him against the wall at the end of the hallway, looming over him dangerously. He had raised a hand to rest on Hinata's cheek, gripping his chin roughly. Hinata was looking up at him in a way that Kageyama had never seen before. He wished that he was able to read the smaller boy's face, but he couldn't.

At that moment, Oikawa pressed himself lightly against the smaller boy, leaning down. Hinata did nothing, simply stared as Oikawa came even closer to him, maybe an inch away from his lips.

Kageyama charged at them, screaming, "Stop!"

The pair turned their heads to stare wildly at Kageyama, who suddenly threw Oikawa off of Hinata and stepped between them, shielding Hinata.

"Get away from him!" Kageyama growled, "He's mine!"

Oikawa looked at him wide-eyed. Tsukki and Yamaguchi were standing at the top of the stairs, gasping out at Kageyama's action. Kageyama was giving Oikawa a menacing look, dangerous and sincere. The brunette looked at him in pure shock, raising his hands defensively.

"... Kageyama?" a sweet voice said behind him and Kageyama softened his features and turned around. Hinata was staring up at him, eyes wide and unreadable. Kageyama looked down at him, worried and angry and hurt and feeling so emotions that he'd never felt before. Hinata was there in front of him; Hinata, who looked so stunning as he stared up at Kageyama with the most wondrous of looks. Kageyama suddenly could not stand the pain any longer.

The taller of the two reached down and grabbed Hinata's wrist. Without a word, he began to drag him further down the long hallway. He opened a door and dragged Hinata inside, slamming it shut and locking the door. Kageyama pulled Hinata in front of him, pushing his back against the door.

"Kageyama?" called Hinata again, staring up at him with terribly large eyes.

"Are you drunk?" asked Kageyama seriously and Hinata furiously shook his head.

He didn't know what came over him when he said, "Good. I want you to remember this."

Kageyama was just as shocked at his actions as Hinata was, as he grabbed Hinata's cheek and furiously slammed their lips together. The pressure that so desperately wanted to escape from his chest had finally escaped, and Kageyama did not hold back.

Hinata did not kiss back. The shock he felt as Kageyama continued to mold their lips together was unreal. The taller boy pulled back a little, just enough so that he could stare into Hinata's eyes. The shorter boy looked at him, beyond confused. But Kageyama was giving him the most astoundingly sad look, and Hinata softened his eyes, reaching his hands to wrap around the person he liked and pulling him back in. Their lips met again, much softer this time, and the pair tilted their lips as they kissed.

Hinata had never kissed anyone before in his life, but in that moment, he didn't care if he was bad. His soulmate had stolen his first, and it was everything he'd ever dreamed.

Kageyama held him closer, tugged him in by the small of his back and holding his head in place. He'd never felt a kiss quite like this one, the intense shock when their lips met and the vibrations in his chest as he held Hinata against him. Hinata's lips were twenty times better than he imagined, soft and plump and cautious against his own. He could feel the inexperience that his soulmate held, but Kageyama didn't care; his lips felt too good to stop. 

They continued to kiss sweetly for a while before the taller of the two grew incredibly desperate. Hinata was not close enough to him; he needed more. Kageyama slid his hands further down, gripping under Hinata's ass and pulling. The smaller of the two yelped in shock, lips still stuck against Kageyama's, but he hopped up and wrapped his legs around Kageyama's waist, anyway. The taller of the two groaned lowly, keeping a firm grip on Hinata's thigh while also pressing into his back. Kageyama walked backward blindly, holding Hinata preciously in his arms. He was so weightless in his arms; it turned Kageyama on to no end.

Carefully, the lankier body felt the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, and he gently sat down on the soft mattress. Hinata straddled him as Kageyama lay down on his back, hands clumsy. He held onto Kageyama's shoulders, did not want to separate from him for even a second.

Kageyama finally released his lips and lifted his head a little to kiss up the side of Hinata's neck. The redhead moaned very quietly, having never been kissed in such a way. The light, peppery kisses that were placed along his neck felt sensational. Kageyama tore at his shirt, scrunching at the material shielding Hinata's body and attempting to force it up over his head. Hinata pulled back for a moment, obliging as he threw his own shirt away. He was sitting up on Kageyama's hips, allowing the raven-haired male to begin exploring an area of Hinata he'd never felt before.

Hinata's skin burned his fingers. It was soft and smooth; like a finely crafted angel. Kageyama felt over him so gently that Hinata felt his insides swell with pride. Rough fingers that were trying so desperately to be kind pierced his chest. The darkness of the room shielded his view, but the moon shone in through the window in the room, and Kageyama saw what was the most beautiful body he'd ever seen.

"Kageyama," whimpered Hinata as rough pads of coarse fingers teased over his nipples. Tobio found out quickly that the buds were sensitive. Kageyama circled them, finding them cute.

The pair ignored knocks on the door, calls coming from outside. The music was thundering from outside the door, but, somehow, the room seemed quiet enough that the two of them could hear one another's every move. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima worriedly tried to enter the room, but Hinata and Kageyama paid them no mind. At that time, they didn't care if the door suddenly burst open and they were seen; their minds were only focused on the other person in front of them.

Kageyama tweaked at soft nipples, poking at them. There was something about a man's nipples that intrigued him; they felt nothing like a woman's.

Tobio was suddenly circling his hands around Shouyou's back, pulling him closer. He reached up a little, reaching his mouth up. He could not help himself as he wrapped his lips around one of the taught buds, kissing over it and capturing the nipple between his lips. Hinata cried out lowly, gripping at Kageyama's hair. Kageyama closed his eyes, rubbing his mouth across Shouyou's nipple. He used his thumb to gently prod at the other one, soothing the bud's sensitivity.

"Kageyama," cried Hinata again, but the man did not answer him. He experimented with him, prodding his tongue out and giving it a careful lick. Hinata hiccuped, biting his lip. Kageyama licked harder, ran his tongue more harshly against the nipple. He captured it in between hips lips again and pulled, teasing him. Finally, he pulled away and flipped them over. Hinata whined a little as he lay on his back. Kageyama slotted himself between his legs, kissing over his neck again.

Without thinking, Kageyama pressed his hips against Hinata's.

"No," whimpered Hinata, "Kageyama, I--"

Kageyama groaned, could feel Hinata's hard length pressing up against his own.

"You're hard," muttered Kageyama, and he pushed against Hinata again with his hips. He had never felt another man against him before, but Kageyama didn't care. Hinata felt so good against him.

Kageyama rocked their hips together again and they each moaned out. He started a slow pace, taunting and teasing Hinata's erection with his own. His dick was so restrained in his pants, but the palming pressure was something he'd never experienced before, and it was impossibly good.

"Hinata," breathed Kageyama, "I'm going to take off your pants."

Hinata did not answer him, allowing Kageyama to stand up and pull down his pants. Kageyama did the same, throwing off his jeans quickly. He was missing Hinata's irresistible heat, wanting to be back against him.

The two of them were in their boxers now, and Kageyama gently crawled back over the shorter man, carefully placing their hips back against one another. They groaned at the contact, and Kageyama lifted Hinata's legs around his waist and began to hump him slowly.

Hinata turned his head to the side, cheeks growing bright red. He gripped at the sheets of Kageyama's bed, trying to conceal his light moans. Kageyama was panting harshly into his neck, writhing against him. The feeling of Kageyama's hard cock against his own made Hinata blush from head-to-toe. He found himself swallowing his pride and gently pushed his hips up into Kageyama, craving for more contact.

Kageyama groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "S-Shit." He pressed himself further into Hinata and did not hold back, began to grind furiously against him, moving faster and faster. Hinata was moaning above him and Kageyama swore he'd never heard a more beautiful sound. The tiny boy beneath him was truly the definition of cute. 

Tobio felt his fingers twitch as he held Hinata, began to dig his nails into the other boy's skin and his thrust their hips together. His fingers felt stuck against him, wanting more, even though Hinata was grinding up against him with the same intensity. He could hold back no longer, departed from Hinata again to quickly tug the other boy's underwear down before the smaller man could protest.

He did not know what he was expecting. Hinata was laying there, dick hard and raised proudly. It looked entirely different from his own; Hinata's cock was very short and slightly fatter than his, while Kageyama's was definitely bigger and much longer. However, the same type of precum that would bubble from his own cock was dripping from Hinata's.

"Kageyama," begged Hinata, "Don't look..."

Kageyama licked his lips and stared. Hinata should have known such a thing would happen. His soulmate had once told him that he found it odd Hinata was a boy, of course he would be disgusted that Hinata had a dick. He was probably holding Hinata in such a way because he lashed out, didn't stop to think that Hinata was a boy and did not have female genitalia.

"I'm sorry," Hinata cried suddenly, reaching down to cover up his lower parts. He was feeling so ashamed, could not believe he let Kageyama get this far. Kageyama surely was looking at his with disgust. The ginger wanted to run away, wished that he had been born a girl so Kageyama would love him.

However, the taller boy spread Hinata's legs further apart and removed the other boy's hands from where he was trying to hide himself. Hinata's swollen cock was back in sight, and Kageyama, surprisingly, craved him more than ever. He quickly grabbed his own boxers and shoved them down his legs. The two were now entirely nude. Hinata looked at him in shock.

Tobio made haste, reached for his bedside drawer and opened it, searching. He pulled out his only bottle of lube, settling in between Hinata's legs again.

"Kageyama?"

The raven-haired man spurted some lube on his fingers, pushing Hinata further up the bed and pressing his legs further apart, still. He settled his eyes between Hinata's legs and verbally groaned at the sight of Hinata's hole. It was small, tight, and colorless. He longed to be inside of him.

Kageyama lowered his lubed fingers, prodding against Hinata's hole. The younger one gasped, began to twitch and fumble when he felt Kageyama circle him.

"Kageyama!"

"Hinata," whispered Tobio, "Can I?"

The redhead looked up at him and they made eye contact. Kageyama was still circling his wet finger around Hinata's opening, eyes begging for more. Hinata's eyes softened and he gave a small nod. Tobio did not wait, immediately began to poke a single finger inside of him. He slowly pushed inside, pausing a few times for Hinata to adjust. Kageyama's finger felt long and slender inside of him.

He had little willpower, and Kageyama pushed the rest of his finger inside. Hinata whimpered and Tobio paused. He wiggled the finger around very carefully and very slowly, allowing him to adjust. It became very clear that Hinata had never fingered himself before, was entirely a virgin. The thought made Tobio's finger stab sharply inside of him and Hinata cried out, entirely pleased by the touch.

Tobio slowly thrust his finger in and out of of Hinata, exploring. Hinata's tight heat was a sensation he'd never realized he'd been craving. He felt his eyes grow dark and he pushed another finger inside, pausing when he saw Hinata shudder a little. He could feel Hinata's pulsing heat squeeze around his digits and he groaned.

"Shit," he cursed, "You're incredible."

Hinata whined, drawing a hand up to his mouth so he could nibble at his knuckle. Kageyama began to rock his two fingers in and out of Hinata, thrusting quietly and rather slow. Shouyou cried out at the sensation, feeling rather filled by the long fingers that entered him. Kageyama began to scissor him, opening him up nice and wide. Hinata arched his back slightly at the sensation, loving the feeling of two fingers gripping his insides and poking around him.

But it was not until Kageyama was thrusting three fingers inside of him that he found his most special spot.

"Ah!" hiccuped Hinata and Kageyama bit his lip while a slight smirk, prodding back into Hinata's prostate. He began to quickly pump his fingers inside, loving the squelch of his fingers and the way Shouyou's hole puckered when he pulled out a little, as though he was trying to suck the fingers back in.

"O-Oh!" stumbled Hinata and Kageyama licked his lips. He did his best to spread his fingers inside of Hinata to open up his insides. He knew that something wider than his fingers would soon be entering him, hopefully, and he wanted to stretch him out as best he could to prepare him.

As Hinata began to quake beneath him, cock bouncing very, very lightly at the force of the fingers being pumped inside of him, Kageyama swallowed and finally asked,

"Hinata... can I enter you?"

Shouyou opened his eyes from where they'd been closed and snapped his eyes to Tobio's. The other man was pleading with his eyes, still shoving his fingers quickly inside of him. Hinata whimpered out.

"W-What?"

"Can I... can I put my cock inside you?" asked Kageyama again and Hinata threw his head back and moaned loudly, back arching from the bed again.

"... Yes."

Kageyama sighed in content, withdrew his fingers and went back to the nightstand by his bed. He dug around inside, searching, before he pulled out a condom.

"I'll go slow," reassured Kageyama, "I won't hurt you."

"O-Okay..."

Kageyama quickly tore open the packaging of the condom and didn't hesitate to quickly roll it over himself, moaning at the feeling of his neglected cock finally being touched. He pumped himself a little, spreading some lube over his aching cock and reminded himself that he would be inside of Hinata's tight heat soon enough.

"It's going to feel so good inside you," said Tobio, without even really thinking. Hinata moaned, biting his lip and staring up at Kageyama with kind eyes.

Kageyama loomed over Hinata, aiming his pulsing cock for Hinata's stretched entrance.

"Are you ready?" asked Kageyama and Hinata swallowed heavily, smiling very lightly and nodding. He was not prepared, however, for the width of Kageyama's thick cock, and felt a slight burn as the older man began to gently push inside of him.

"Oh, oh god," cried Hinata as Kageyama pushed an inch of his cock inside of him. He stopped and waited for Hinata to adjust, those his brain told him to just shove himself completely inside.

"F-Fuck," groaned Kageyama. Hinata's entrance was already squeezing around him, wanting to suck him inside. He pushed a little further inside of Hinata, gulping and watching Hinata for any signs of pain. He did not want to hurt the smaller boy.

When he was seated halfway inside, Kageyama bent down and placed a gentle kiss to Hinata's lips. The other man responded by nosing at Kageyama's jaw, panting very lowly and easy.

"Does it hurt?" asked Kageyama and Hinata shook his head.

"No... keep going." Kageyama pushed inside of him further, pressing further and further until he was completely inside. The two groaned out when he was fully seated, and Hinata begged him to wait so that he could get used to the heavy cock inside of him.

"Fuck... you really are a virgin," groaned Kageyama, "Oh god, you're so fucking tight around my cock."

"K-Kageyama..."

"Your hole is so good already and we haven't even started... oh my god," Kageyama moaned, throwing his head back when Hinata squeezed his hole around him. "Shit, I've never felt anything like this before."

"M-Me neither..." winced Hinata, shifting a little. The feeling of Kageyama's heavy and hard cock had not yet settled with his insides.

"Shit... Hinata," breathed Kageyama, "Thank you... fuck, thank you for waiting for me... thank you for letting me be your first... you're so tight..."

"Oh, Kageyama," moaned Hinata, "M-Move, shit."

Tobio did not have to be told twice. He gently pulled halfway out of Hinata, watching his cock exit Hinata slightly before he carefully pushed back inside. He heard Shouyou grunt as he pressed back inside.

"Is it okay?" he asked worriedly, "Does it hurt?"

"'s good," whined Hinata, "Keep going."

Kageyama growled, pulling out of Hinata and cramming back inside. They both moaned out and that was enough for Kageyama to begin a steady pace, rocking deep within Hinata's walls. Hinata reached up, gripping at Kageyama's shoulders as the other man began to slowly thrust his cock inside of Hinata's virginal hole.

Before long, the two were turning rather sweaty. The air felt hot and steamy as Kageyama began to thrust harder inside. He was already searching for Hinata's spot, desperately trying to give him the ultimate pleasure that he knew the smaller boy would want. Kageyama was slapping so deeply inside of him, and Hinata had never felt such an intense feeling before.

"Oh, shit!" Hinata cried, "Kageyama!"

"Is it good?" grunted Kageyama, "How does it feel?"

"F-Feels too good, 'Yama, oh--" Kageyama groaned at the sudden nickname, began to slap faster inside of Hinata's tight heat. The smaller boy cried out, feeling a few drops of his sperm drip from the tip of his cock. His cock was bouncing around wildly now, hips feeling bruised as Kageyama gripped at them, thrusting harder inside. His head was thrown back, sweat rolling down his forehead and mouth releasing a considerable grunt every time he pounded inside of the boy beneath him. His hair was sticking to his face, and his hips were feeling swollen with the force he was using to please Hinata, but Kageyama didn't let that stop him. The tightness of Hinata's hole kept him going.

"You're amazing," breathed Kageyama, "Hinata, you feel so incredible."

"You feel so good," Hinata admitted as he touched over Kageyama's sweaty skin. He was just about to praise Tobio further when he was suddenly crying out, moaning the loudest he had yet. Kageyama's eyes snapped to Hinata's face and then he was grinning madly.

"That's it, yeah?" he grunted, "Did I find your spot?"

"Y-Yes!" whined Hinata, "K-Kageyama, don't stop! Oh, fuck!"

"I can feel my cock hitting so deep inside you, Hinata... your insides feel so incredible wrapped around my cock."

Hinata stared at the older man wildly, feeling his stomach give a jerk when Kageyama spoke so naughtily to him. It made him spread his legs further so that Kageyama could shove even deeper inside of him, nuzzle even further against his warm prostate.

"Yes!" groaned Kageyama, "Ugh, fuck! You're gonna make me fucking cum doing that Hinata, shit..."

Hinata squeezed around him again and Kageyama grunted loudly again, squeezing his eyes shut as he pounded his thick cock inside of Hinata before he snapped them open again dangerously, eyeing Hinata and clicking his tongue.

"Is that what you're trying to do, Hinata? Are you trying to make me cum?"

Shouyou groaned, feeling a tear drip from his eye. The pleasure was too intense, was too good. He was suddenly reaching up farther, resting a hand against Tobio's neck.

"Kageyama..." he whispered and the other man widened his eyes a little and looked down at the man beneath him. Hinata was looking at him with the most adoring look, and Kageyama felt his eyes soften, slowed his thrust very lightly so that he could enjoy the feeling of being inside of Shouyou. He was moving slower, at a rather normal pace, snuggled up against his prostate. Hinata felt his heart swell as Kageyama looked down at him with the most loving look he'd ever seen.

Suddenly, the taller man was gently lowering himself over Hinata, reaching underneath him and wrapping his arms around Hinata, pulling him up to his chest. He was still rocking inside of him, could feel his orgasm approaching, and from the way Hinata was clinging to him, Kageyama could tell that the smaller man was in the same state.

Kageyama continued to hold his arm around Hinata's back, keeping their chests pressed together. He could feel Hinata's swollen cock rubbing against his stomach. He used his other hand to grip at Hinata's hair, but did not tug at it. Rather, Kageyama entangled his fingers in the sweaty, soft tufts and rested nose against Hinata's ear, shuddering against him and groaning.

"I'm close," he whispered to the ginger, closing his eyes and breathing in his sweet scent. Hinata smelled sweaty and incredibly good. 

However, it was not the way Hinata felt around him or how closely together they were laying that made Kageyama come violently; it was when Hinata squeezed his eyes shut and buried his nose deep into Kageyama's shoulder, whispering very softly and very sweetly,

"I love you, Tobio... I love you."

Kageyama's eyes snapped open and he groaned loudly, hips stopping from where they being used to thrust his cock inside Hinata as he came. He paused his thrusts and Hinata came along with him, at the very same time. He was nearly squealing in his ear, clawing at his back and jerking violently up against him when Kageyama snapped his cock inside him for a final time. Kageyama shuddered as he emptied into the condom, felt wetness against his stomach as Hinata's cum coated him.

When they pulled apart and Kageyama was tying off the condom, Hinata laid up against the pillows, breathing harshly. Kageyama laid beside him, taking in every breath with difficulty. Hinata was already beginning to close his eyes, feeling tired. But Kageyama was suddenly not tired at all. His eyes and ears were wide open, and it was then that he realized what they'd just done.

His mind was swarming with Hinata's words long after the ginger had fallen asleep behind him. The music in the hallway behind the door was still thumping loudly, but Kageyama knew that the pulsing organ in his chest was thumping ten times louder than the obnoxious noise in the hall. He did not know what to think, but by the time he realized what he needed to say, he was too late.

"Hinata..." he muttered, turning on his side to face the boy, "I..."

The redhead was already fast asleep. Kageyama closed his mouth, staring at him. He'd never witnessed a sleeping Hinata before, and the sight made his heart tug harshly. The smaller boy was breathing softly, carefully. Kageyama felt his heart break, pulling the boy closer. He didn't care what happened tomorrow or the day after that; he held Hinata in his arms and focused on the present, closing his eyes and falling asleep to the sounds of Hinata's deep breathing, which, to him, was a lot louder than the commotion outdoors.

***

"We... had sex."

"What?!"

Hinata buried his face in his hands. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were staring at him, bewildered, as they sat in their favorite booth at the coffee shop.

"I knew it..." muttered Tsukki and Yamaguchi gave him a challenging look.

"And?!" Yamaguchi pressed, "What happened after that?"

"I... I told him I loved him," Hinata confessed, "I don't know what even came over me! He was holding me so close and... and it just felt so right... and I do love him. I've always known that, I think."

"Well, what did Kageyama say?"

Hinata lowered his hands from where they shielding his eyes. His face was red hot and there were tears swimming in his eyes.

"He... didn't say anything."

"What?"

"I told him and he... he didn't say anything. We fell asleep in his room and I woke up and... left."

"You... you just left?! Without saying anything?!"

"I didn't know what to do!" cried Hinata, "He was still asleep and... and I knew he'd regret it, so I... I ran. I was so scared of him waking up and rejecting me that I... I just left," Hinata sighed, "That was, like, an hour ago... I came straight here and... that's when I called you guys. Who knows if he's even up by now?" Hinata felt a tear run down his cheek, and he whimpered, "God... I'm such an idiot. I mean, he's still with his girlfriend and I... and he just kissed me so suddenly and I couldn't help it. But... god, he was probably drunk, he'll wake up and hate me and... I'm such an idiot!" He suddenly began to cry and Yamaguchi and Tsukki looked at one another. Yamaguchi's eyes were searching the other man's, and Tsukishima looked at him, approving silently.

"Hinata... I'm sure that I should let Kageyama tell you this, but... but last night, before he went on this wild goose chase to find you--"

"What? He did?"

"Let me finish, stupid," Yamaguchi said, smiling a little as he confessed, "He ran into Tsukki and I in the kitchen and... god, I can't explain it, but the look in his eyes was just... I'd never seen him look like that. Anyway, he said something and... Hinata, I think he was trying to find you because... because he was going to tell you that he--"

"Hinata!"

The three of them turned around in horror. Speaking of the devil himself, Kageyama had just entered the small coffee shop.

"I knew I'd find you here," he said, and then he was charging forward, reaching out to grab Hinata.

"K-Kage--?!"

"Idiot, how dare you leave me by myself--" He grabbed at Hinata, trying to get him to stand.

"Stop," Hinata cried. Kageyama stopped pulling at him. Hinata was now standing in front of him, right in front of the booth that Tsukki and Yamaguchi were in. 

"I need to talk to you," Kageyama breathed. Hinata swallowed, heart breaking. He knew what was coming next. He didn't know if he'd be able to bear the pain alone, and so he was whimpering,

"W-Whatever you have to say... you can say it in front of my friends."

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "Fine, have it your way." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata... what we did last night..." his eyes flickered to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and they hurriedly looked away. Kageyama groaned. "Oh god, you told them?!"

"Of course I told them!" shouted Hinata, not caring that other people were in the building, "Dummy, they're my friends!"

"Okay, whatever!" Kageyama said, exasperated, "I don't care if they know! I just... why'd you leave?"

"What?"

"This morning, you didn't even wake me up, you just up and left!"

Hinata spluttered, eyes wide, "I-I--"

"Dumbass, don't just leave someone all alone the morning after!" Kageyama snapped, "I know exactly what you're thinking, you airhead!"

"Wha--"

"You're thinking that I'm going to tell you... that I regret what we did, right?"

Hinata looked down, "I... understand... that you feel that way--"

"Shut up and let me finish, dumbass!" Kageyama hissed and Hinata looked up at him. "I... you... you told me how you feel last night..." his eyes softened and he looked at Hinata, who was blushing the darkest red, almost purple, "Did you mean it?"

Hinata looked away, feeling shy, but Kageyama gripped his chin and forced their eyes to meet again, anyway. "When you told me you loved me... did you mean that?"

Shouyou blinked up at him. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were eyeing them back and forth, as though they were watching a real life soap opera.

"Of... of course I meant it," murmured Hinata.

Kageyama sighed out and Hinata felt his heart give a squeeze.

"Yamaguchi and Tsukishima... they told me that... before all that happened, you were looking for me... is that true?" asked Hinata, staring up at him with hope in his wet eyes. Kageyama released Hinata, putting his arms at his side.

"... Yeah. I was."

"Why?" Hinata gulped out, "Why were you in such a hurry to find me?"

Kageyama suddenly was no longer feeling exasperated. He began to grin very softly, reaching out and taking one of Hinata's soft hands in his own. He used the other hand to rest against Hinata's cheek, thumbing over his skin softly.

"Because... because when we were dancing together, and... I... I felt it, Hinata. Something inside me opened up and I... I just knew. But I was afraid at first, and so I pushed you away. And so I went to the kitchen to cool off, but the feeling didn't go away. And I realized that... that feeling is permanent, Hinata. It's not going to go away."

"... What feeling?"

Kageyama smiled, leaning in closer. He gently grazed his lips over his ear, staring ahead as he whispered quietly in his ear,

"Love, Hinata," he chuckled a little, nuzzling his nose to his ear and continuing, "Hina... Shouyou, I'm in love with you."

Hinata froze, pulling away to look into Kageyama's eyes.

"You... you are?"

"Stupid... do I have to repeat myself?" laughed Kageyama, and then he said loudly enough so that Tsukki and Yamaguchi could hear, "I love you, Shouyou. I do."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely positive."

"Okay, but... like, do you for real love me, or is it just kind of 'I love having sex with you--'"

"Hell no, who do you think I am?!"

"Okay, fair enough, but... do you love me like I love you?"

"I love you more than you love me."

"Um, I seriously doubt that, but I mean, it's not a competition, I guess, but does your heart go 'guah' when you touch me, or is it more like a 'whuah'?"

"... what?"

"I'm asking you if you love me like a 'guah' or like a 'whuah'! It's not that hard, stupid Kageyama!"

"Hm... I definitely love you with a feeling more like 'guah'!"

Hinata gasped, backing away and holding his hands to his face. "Oh my god, you really do love me!"

Kageyama chuckled, stepping closer and embracing the smaller man in front of him. "Yeah... I do, Shouyou. I really love you. And... and not just because you're my soulmate, or because we were intimate. Ever since we met, I... I think I always have loved you." Kageyama swallowed, "Hinata... I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I pushed you away and... and I said so many horrible things. I told you not to like me and... I'm sorry. But I'll never hurt you again, Shouyou. You're my soulmate. We're destined to be together. And not just as friends, I realize that now. You... I was made to love you, and I do. I really--"

"You're so mushy," laughed Hinata, but he was so incredibly happy, "I forgive you for being a dick, Tobio."

Kageyama snorted, pulling away to grip Hinata's face in his hands. He thumbed over plump cheeks, smiling fondly at Hinata and the incredible blush that took over his cheeks.

"I love you, Shouyou," whispered Tobio, staring deeply into his eyes, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Tobio... I... I've been dreaming about this moment since I was a kid."

Kageyama felt his heart swell up in his chest at the familiar saying. He laughed, leaning forward to nuzzle their noses together.

"This is so unexpected," admitted Hinata, "I mean, I'm beyond happy, but... I don't know."

"Love works in wild ways, I guess," Kageyama educated him, "I realize that now."

Hinata suddenly pulled away a little, taking a deep breath. "Kageyama, I believe you, but... but what about Kiyoko? You... you said you loved her, so..."

Kageyama pulled away, breathing deep. "I... I don't think I ever loved her. I know that sounds wrong or stupid, but... but I really thought I loved her. But... now that I'm actually in love, I know that whatever feelings I had for her... they weren't real." He looked down at Hinata apologetically, "But my feelings for you are very real. Maybe you're scared that I'll end up loving someone else, but... that won't happen." He peeled back the sleeve of his shirt, exposing Hinata's name. "Your name is here, idiot. I could never love anyone else... I'll never love someone like I love you again."

Hinata rested his hands on Kageyama's chest, leaning into him. "I'm... so glad. I'm so happy."

Kageyama nuzzled his cheek into the top of his head, closing his eyes and holding him close.

"Fuck," Yamaguchi whispered into Tsukishima's ear, "I should've recorded this!" Tsukki flicked the side of his head, smiling. He looked down at his own wrist, and a swarm of happiness overcame him when he saw his soulmate's name there. 

"This feels so unreal," Hinata laughed, "How can I be sure I'm not dreaming?"

"You're not," smirked Kageyama, pinching his cheek, "See?"

"Ow! You dick!"

"Oh, by the way, how's your body?"

"Stupid... don't ask me something like that in front of my friends!"

"Well I mean, I was pretty rough with you--"

"Shut up!"

Kageyama and Hinata slid into the booth with Tsukki and Yamaguchi. This time, Hinata was able to sit beside the man he loved, and not across from him, longing for the day that Kageyama would finally be his, for that day had finally arrive.

Hinata Shouyou recalled a time when he and Yamaguchi were walking down the street, on their way home from school when they were fourteen years old. It was the same day that he'd shared his greatest fear with Yamaguchi, the idea of his soulmate being a boy and seeing that Hinata, too, was a boy and then his soulmate would leave him because of that fact. He remembered very clearly what Yamaguchi had told him that day.

"Hinata... don't think about it too much. Your soulmate will love you for you." 

And now, eight years later, Hinata would also realize that his best friend had never been more right.


	2. What To Do When He Belongs To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the outside, it would appear that the man was giving him a rather bored expression, but Yamaguchi knew the look all too well, knew that the glint in his eyes was made just for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the shitty part two to this work. I'm definitely wishing it had turned out better, but that's okay! I promised a small epilogue, and so here it is! I hope you guys can enjoy it!

"Tobio," asked Shouyou sweetly, "Could you be a dear and help me put on this tie?"

Kageyama snorted, "Really? You can't do it yourself? You're a grown man for goodness sake."

"Hush!" retorted Hinata, and he poked out his tongue teasingly, "If you really loved me, you'd help me!"

"Yeah, yeah," complained Kageyama with a small smile. He took a step closer to the smaller man, and it was then that he realized that wow, he was a /lot/ taller than Hinata. But he loved his soulmate too much to say it so his face, and so he ignored his thoughts, reaching forward to help Shouyou with his bow tie.

When he was ready, Shouyou stepped back, revealing himself to the fullest. His eyes glanced up to Tobio's, and he was asking, "Well? How do I look?"

A million words swam through the dark-haired man's head, but there was one that rang the most in his head. Without even thinking, he spoke,

"Beautiful." When he said the words, it was breathy and light, as if they very sight of his soulmate took his breath away. "Absolutely stunning."

The ginger blushed a very pink tint and waved away Kageyama's words. He was now studying the man in front of him, biting his lip and saying politely,

"I think you look very handsome, Tobio."

His other half grinned lovingly, reaching forward so that he could tuck an orange hair out of Hinata's face and back behind his ear. "Are you ready?" he asked and Hinata giggled cutely.

"It's not me you should be asking," he breathed wryly. Kageyama chuckled and took the other man's hand in his own, leading him out the door as Hinata finished, "You should ask the man who is actually getting married."

***

Kageyama and Hinata along with their two very best friends were sitting in a very familiar place. It had been a couple of years since Hinata had worked there, but the coffee shop was still his favorite place to visit Yamaguchi, who was still going strong with his love for preparing coffee beans. It was also very easy money for rent since he and Tsukishima had bought an apartment together and needed the money.

"Speaking of which," Tsukishima said out of the blue, leaning back and wrapping an arm around Yamaguchi's shoulder, "Now that we've got a little extra money in our bank account, I'd love to take you all out for dinner some time."

Hinata and Kageyama gave each other a careful glance. They knew what they were supposed to say next and responded,

"Oh, awesome! Thanks, Tsukki!"

"It's Tsukishima."

Yamaguchi snickered beside the other man.

"Are you sure about that, Kei?" he asked wondrously, "You don't have to..."

"I want to," Tsukki said, "I want to treat you to a nice dinner."

Yamaguchi blushed and leaned into his side a little, sipping at his drink. From the outside, it would appear that the man was giving him a rather bored expression, but Yamaguchi knew the look all too well, knew that the glint in his eyes was made just for him.

"You look cute today," Yamaguchi whispered in his ears. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and looked away. There was a very faint blush on his cheeks.

"Shut up, Tadashi."

"Sorry, Kei."

Kageyama and Hinata snickered beside the two of them. Tsukishima gave them a challenging look and they shut up immediately.

"So," Hinata said with a smile, turning to Kageyama. He reached his hand down, holding it out. Kageyama knew what to do and picked up his boyfriend's hand in his own, interlocking their fingers. Even though they'd been together for well over a year now, the feeling of Tobio's big, warm hands holding his own made Shouyou giggle like a school girl on the inside. 

Ever since they'd started dating, Hinata was certain he'd never felt unhappy. How could he feel that way? Every day he woke up and he'd already have a text from Kageyama, greeting him into the new day or having left him a sweet voicemail for Shouyou to listen to before he got out of bed.

Hinata Shouyou was beyond in love. His eyes darted down to his soulmate's name on his wrist without even thinking. He was proud to be wearing Kageyama's name.

"Shouyou?"

"Huh?"

Kageyama smiled, "You were saying something."

"O-Oh," the redhead blushed, "Um... so," he repeated, "Are we... still on to practice today?"

Tobio knew immediately what he was talking about. He gave his soulmate a dashing smile and answered, "Of course."

Hinata squealed in delight and hugged Kageyama's arm. He loved playing volleyball with his favorite setter.

Kageyama never knew why Hinata always got so excited when he told him he'd play volleyball with the smaller man, as if Tobio would one day reject him. There was no way Kageyama would ever tell Hinata no.

"Um, we're here, too, lovebirds," Yamaguchi snapped, but there was a smile on his face. The four of them, in unison, funnily enough, took a sip from their coffees. When Yamaguchi turned away to look out the window, Tsukishima made eye contact with the other two, eyes asking a question. Hinata and Kageyama nodded in response, already knowing what he was asking. Tsukki looked away, staring at the back of Yamaguchi's head in adoration. He'd never say it in front of anyone else (he had a reputation of being a jerk to uphold, of course), but Yamaguchi might've been the prettiest person he'd ever seen in his life. He loved him more than anything.

That evening, when the four of them met at a rather fancy restaurant for dinner, Tsukishima couldn't believe he was feeling nervous, though he hid it remarkably well. They were seated and Yamaguchi, luckily enough, announced that he was going to the restroom. When he was gone, Kageyama and Hinata looked to Tsukki with a sly grin on each of their faces.

"Nervous?" Hinata teased and Tsukki rolled his eyes.

"No," he lied. His insides were rattling like never before.

"Liar," played Kageyama, "I can tell just by looking in your eyes that you're scared."

"Shut up," Tsukishima retorted, "By the way, when is Hinata going to show up?"

"What're you talking about? I'm right here!"

"Oh, sorry. You're so small that I didn't see you at first."

If looks could kill, then Tsukki would be dead by Hinata's stare. 

Yamaguchi came back and slid into the chair beside Tsukishima. He gave him an easy laugh and Tsukki thought his heart might explode.

When they'd ordered their food and drinks, Tsukki began to nervously tap his fingers on the table in front of him. Yamaguchi, unfortunately, noticed.

"Why're you doing that?" he asked, "You only do that when you're nervous."

The rest of them froze up, unsure of what to say. Curse Yamaguchi for knowing his soulmate so well.

"U-Uh... you're just..." Tsukki blushed, leaning into Yamaguchi and whispering, "You're just gorgeous, is all."

Yamaguchi didn't buy it at all. He pulled away and squinted at Tsukishima, beyond suspicious.

"Thanks for the complement, honey. Now what's actually going on?" he hissed.

Tsukki looked at him, expression never changing. "Yamaguchi, I... I'm just glad you're my soulmate, okay? That's all. I'm serious."

Yamaguchi blushed a hot red. Tobio and Shouyou snickered, deciding not to interrupt the incredibly sweet moment.

"Stupid..." Tadashi muttered, looking away so that Tsukishima would not see him smile widely. Tsukki lifted a hand to rest over Yamaguchi's back.

At that moment, their food arrived and they ate quietly. Yamaguchi was wondering why the atmosphere felt so shifted, but didn't question the fact. Kageyama, Hinata, and Tsukishima were all feeling incredibly shaken, but Tsukki was obviously the worst. He could not focus on his meal and choked a few times on the food.

"I need more wine," he sighed, and Yamaguchi giggled very softly. He drank it down all the way and Yamaguchi patted his back in a silent way to tell him to slow down.

If Hinata and Kageyama were nervous for their friend, they'd long forgotten about the feeling. After they'd taken a bite of their food, the nervousness had vanished. The meal was astoundingly good, and they were now shoveling down the entire plate. There were many things that the two had in common, and their love for food was certainly one of them.

"Any dessert?" their waiter asked and Tsukki swallowed. He knew that the waiter knew of his plans, but he was still nervous. The waiter winked at him once knowingly.

"Ah, I think we're okay--" Yamaguchi began but Tsukishima cut him off.

"No, you should get something," he said, "In fact, let me pick something for you."

"Why?"

Tsukshima bit his lip. "Because I know what you'll like best."

"Oh, is this like some sort of test?" Yamaguchi snickered, "Like a 'how well do I know my soulmate' kind of deal?"

"S... Sure," Tsukki played along and Yamaguchi snorted.

"Alright, then. Pick a dessert for me, dear."

Tsukki whispered something in the waiter's ear. Yamaguchi thought he was ordering a dessert, but really he was saying lowly,

"You've got the ring, right? Everything's ready?"

The waiter pulled away and nodded, writing something down on his notepad to make it seem like he was writing down a dessert. The rest of them ordered something for themselves and the waiter walked away. Tsukki did his best to keep his eyes away from Yamaguchi, terrified that if he gave Yamaguchi one look that the entire surprise would be spoiled. But Hinata knew that his friend was afraid, and so he began a conversation with Yamaguchi to allow Tsukki a few moments to breathe.

Kageyama, who was sitting across from the taller, blond man, was giving him a look. Tsukishima knew that look, knew that Kageyama was silently asking him if he was okay. It was true that the two of them seemed as though they did not get along, but everyone closest to them knew that they were very good friends.

Tsukishima gave a slow, deep breath in response to Kageyama's look. The black-haired man gave him an easygoing smile, winking at him as though to say 'you got this!'

However, the second their waiter came back around to serve them their food, Tsukishima thought he might run away from the entire scenario in fear.

There were covers on their plates. When everyone had been served their food, the waiter began taking the covers off one-by-one, first with Hinata and Kageyama, and then Tsukki's.

When the man had made his way to Yamaguchi, Tsukki began to quake. The silver dome was carefully lifted from Yamaguchi's plate, revealing a chocolate dessert.

"Thank you," Yamaguchi said politely, and the other three were frozen, watching Yamaguchi carefully and waiting for him to notice something different about his plate. Yamaguchi began to mettle with his fork, picking it up. Tsukishima widened his eyes, cracking his knuckles and waiting impatiently.

And then Yamaguchi saw something odd. He furrowed his eyebrow and leaned in closer to his chocolate cake, noticing something shiny and bright inside. He pulled away and gasped loudly.

"Oh my god... Tsukki!" he whispered, "They gave me the wrong cake!"

The other three looked between one another, beyond confused.

"... What?"

He leaned in closer, "I think... I think someone was trying to propose to someone tonight, and they accidentally gave me the cake with the ring in it!"

Tsukishima felt as though he had been slapped. 'You idiot', he thought in his mind, 'why did I have to have the world's stupidest soulmate?'

Kageyama and Hinata felt tears wet their eyes, remaining still and trying not to burst out laughing.

"Kei, what do we do?!" Yamaguchi asked, "The poor soul is probably wondering where his ring went! We've got to find a way to return it!"

"Tadashi..."

Yamaguchi was frantically looking around. "Do you see anyone who looks like they might be missing a ring?" he raised a hand to his head, looking worried. "Oh, I can't believe they've made such a mistake! Why would they think that the ring belonged in /my/ cake--"

Yamaguchi paused. He snapped his head up, eyes wide. He slowly, very slowly turned his head to look at his boyfriend. Their eyes met and Tsukki gave him an intense stare.

"... The ring was put in my cake on purpose, wasn't it?"

Tsukki snorted. "... You idiot."

Yamaguchi felt tears begin to form in his eyes and he raised his hand to rest over his mouth. Tsukishima leaned over him, plucking the ring out of the cake and dusting it off, holding it between his fingers and leaning over to take one of Tadashi's hands in his own.

"Tadashi--"

"Oh my god!"

Tsukishima clicked his tongue, "/Tadashi/... I... I love--"

"Wait, fuck, I need to record this!"

"Tadashi, could you shut the hell up? I'm trying to propose, here."

"Oh, shit, you're right. Okay, okay, sorry, continue--"

Clearing his throat, Tsukishima started again, "Yamaguchi Tadashi... I love you. I do. I know it's embarrassing to say such things in front of your friends, but... but I mean it, okay? I'm so happy you're my soulmate. I love you so, so much. And... and I want to cherish you properly and forever. I'm so--"

"Kei, I can't believe this, oh my god--"

"God dammit, Tadashi," Tsukishima growled after being interrupted again, "Will you marry me?!"

Yamaguchi covered his face in his hands, letting out a sob. He slowly revealed his face, eyes wet and face red. He looked deep into Tsukishima's eyes, smiling and watching as the other man's face went from pure boredom to adoration. His eyes lit up and a small grin flashed on his face and that was it. Yamaguchi laughed loudly, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Tsukki's neck.

"Yes, god, oh fuck, yes--"

"Don't curse, we're in a nice place--"

"You stupid prick, of course I'll marry you!"

Kageyama and Hinata began clapping for the two of them, laughing and smiling and watching as Yamaguchi placed a big, fat kiss on Tsukishima's lips. Tsukki held him close, clutching the ring in his fingers. When they parted, he took Yamaguchi's hand and slipped the ring gently onto his finger and Yamaguchi began to cry.

"Aw, congratulations, Yams!" Hinata laughed, and he had his hands clapped together proudly. Kageyama congratulated them the same, giving them a genuine smile. 

Later that evening, as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima said goodbye to their two best friends, Kageyama quickly pulled the taller man aside and whispered sneakily to him,

"Just so you know, I'm going to do everything in my power to make my proposal to Hinata twenty times more romantic than yours was to Yamaguchi."

"Dream on, asshole."

Yamaguchi held Tsukki's hand tighter than he ever had as they finally separated from their friends.

"Jeez, you're going to snap my fingers off," Tsukishima teased.

"Tsukki... I really love you."

Tsukishima turned slightly pink and looked away, acting cool. Yamaguchi thought he was incredibly handsome as they walked to their car. The wind was blowing his hair breezily, and Yamaguchi wanted to kiss him again.

"I... I've already told you how I feel, stupid."

Yamaguchi chuckled gently. He knew that Tsukishima always got a little flushed when they spoke so intimately to one another, so he spared him from any more affection. He held his hand and that was enough for Yamaguchi. He knew that Tsukki showed his love mostly through actions rather than words, and Tadashi was not bothered by that. Though he always preferred to say it straight to his face, Yamaguchi thought that his love for saying things straightforward and Tsukki's way of saying 'I love you' through actions, balanced them out. 

Tsukishima always rubbed his back or squeezed at his hands when he held them, and Yamaguchi knew all too well that he was loved. And now, as they settled in the car and he examined a very big, very shiny ring that fit perfectly on his left hand, Yamaguchi had the actual proof that Tsukishima loved him.

***

"I'm gonna go check on him, okay?" said Hinata to his soulmate after Kageyama had helped him fixate his tie. He couldn't imagine how nervous his best friend was; after all, he'd be a married man in just a few moments. It was Hinata's job to make sure he was calm.

He rapped on the door outside of Yamaguchi's room, and Hinata heard his voice crack when he told him to enter. Hinata poked his head inside with a smile before gasping.

"Yamaguchi..." he muttered, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him, "You're..."

He wasn't able to finish the sentence. Yamaguchi was /stunning/. He was wearing a pure white suit with white shoes. The shirt that was buttoned up underneath his jacket was wrinkle-free and looked as though it was pure silk. The slight pink tint that emerged underneath his freckled skin gave him an emitting glow. Hinata could not take his eyes off of him.

"Thanks," Yamaguchi laughed, knowing what his friend was trying to say. Hinata gave him a wry grin.

"Are you ready?"

"More than ready," laughed Yamaguchi, "I'm so excited I can hardly stand it."

"You... you look very handsome, Yams. I mean that."

Yamaguchi turned a little more flushed, looking away and looking down. "I... I guess I'm a little nervous. I honestly couldn't stop thinking terrible things, like if Tsukishima chickened out or something."

"Of course he won't!" Shouyou brushed off, "He's the one that proposed after all!" Hinata softened his features, "I think everyone's a little more surprised that you're not as nervous..."

"I am a little nervous!" Yamaguchi repeated, "But I don't know why."

Hinata took a seat across from him, leaning in toward his best friend. "I understand, Yamaguchi. There are a lot of things that you could potentially be worrying about, but everything will be fine. Tsukishima isn't going to just run off--"

"Oh, trust me, I wouldn't let him," scoffed Yamaguchi, "That man has /my/ name on his wrist. He was made to marry /me/, and I wouldn't have cared if we were together for twenty years before he proposed. He's mine," Yamaguchi snorted, "Besides, I'm the only one that's stupid enough to want to marry that cranky ass."

Hinata let out a loud laugh, and the two of them burst into a fit of giggles. It felt nice to laugh alone with Yamaguchi; it reminded Hinata of when they were kids. Hinata wiped a few tears from his eyes before giving Yamaguchi possibly the most sincere smile he'd ever given him.

Maybe it was he who had Kageyama's name on his wrist, and Yamaguchi who had Tsukki's name on his wrist, but the two of them knew deep down that the two of them were destined to be best friends, just like it was destiny for them to meet their soulmate's.

"I'm happy for you, Yamaguchi," whispered Hinata, "I can't believe that... that the day's finally here. Everything's just... perfect, isn't it? I mean, we never have to worry about soulmate's again like we used to when we were kids... it's amazing.

"I know," Yamaguchi said, giggling, "It's crazy," he looked down, smiling at the engagement ring that he still wore on his finger, "I'm really happy."

Hinata didn't respond, but he didn't need to do so. Yamaguchi and Hinata shared a final genuine stare and then they were leaving the room together.

They waited outside of the ceremony hall, each of them waiting in turn for when it was their time to enter. The part of Yamaguchi's family that would be in the wedding began to line up down one hallway while Tsukishima's did the same on the opposite side. Hinata took his place in the line, right in front of Yamaguchi, who would be the last one to enter the room with Tsukki.

Slowly, the line moved further and further up, until it was Hinata's turn to round the corner and be greeted by the person he loved most in the world. Kageyama gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before bending his arm out so Hinata could take it, and then he escorted him down the long rug that ran its' length in the middle, through the sitting crowd of friends and family.

Yamaguchi took a deep breath, studying the small bouquet in his hands. He wanted more than anything to incorporate flowers into his wedding, and he always loved the idea of holding flowers like a bride was, even if it seemed foolish. They were white and pink roses, and they were quite beautiful. Finally, as he exhaled his final breath and rounded the corner, too, stopping in front of the door that lead into the ceremony. Everyone stood up from the inside, and Tsukishima rounded the corner, too, and their eyes met.

Tsukki widened his eyes, hesitating his steps before finally walking until he was directly in front of Yamaguchi. For what seemed like forever, the pair of them stood there, staring into one another's eyes. Tsukki gulped.

"You..." he took a deep breath before finally finishing, "You're beautiful."

Yamaguchi snickered a little before finally taking a proper look at him.

His fiance was wearing a powder blue suit, looking very old fashioned. The color suited him incredibly well, Yamaguchi noted. The white button-up shirt underneath his suit matched Yamaguchi's, and their shoes were both the same bright white. But, even though these things did catch his attention, there was another thing that Tsukki was holding that made him melt more than anything.

A single red rose was in his hands, stem long and free of thorns. Tsukishima cleared his throat before picking at Yamaguchi's bouquet, moving aside the flowers so that the red one would fit in the middle.

"I... I wanted to give this to you," Tsukki explained, "Red... red roses are the number one symbol for love, and so... I-I don't know, I thought--"

"Oh, Kei," Yamaguchi whispered, eyes welling up with tears, "You fool, I'm not supposed to start crying until we're about to be married forever!" A tear fell down his cheek and Tsukki wiped it away sweetly, and Yamaguchi knew the meaning behind to action.

"Well... let's not just stand here," Kei cleared his throat, "Come on, let's get married already."

Yamaguchi laughed, taking the arm that was extended out for him. He could not stop crying, allowed silent tears to fall down his cheeks as everyone smiled lovingly at them. It felt like a dream come true, walking down the length of the rug and then joining the rest of his friends at the end, fitting under the perfect archway that was empty and awaiting to be filled with the two most important people of the wedding.

Later on in the day, when Tsukishima and his husband were dancing to an embarrassingly slow song, Hinata scooted his chair closer to his boyfriend so that he could rest his head on his shoulder.

"I'm happy for them," whispered Hinata and Kageyama turned his head a little to peck gently on Hinata's head.

"Me too," he responded, reaching over to take Hinata's hand in his own. He squeezed at him a little, staring down at him.

"Shouyou..." he muttered, and the shorter man picked up his head a little to stare into gorgeously deep blue eyes, "I'm... I'm really happy with you, you know?"

Hinata smiled, leaning up and giving his boyfriend a soft kiss. Kageyama turned his head, allowing the kiss to be a little deeper. However, it was sweet and short as the two of them pulled away.

"I'm happy, too. And I'm even more glad that things didn't turn out how they could have."

Kageyama scrunched his brow a little, "What do you mean?"

Hinata snorted, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten that you were ready to kick me off the face of the earth when we first met?"

Kageyama looked away, face turning sour and red. "... I've already apologized for that."

"I know," responded Shouyou, "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm saying that... that I'm glad you ended up with me and not... not--"

Tobio groaned, "Do we have to mention her right now? On such a happy day?"

Shouyou giggled, "I'm saying that I'm happy you're with me!"

"Me too... god, I still have nightmares about that time."

"That time? You mean when you guys were together?"

Kageyama gave him a dark look and Hinata suddenly realized what his boyfriend was talking about. He burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Yeah... she was really pissed."

"It's not funny!"

"Yes it is!" Hinata laughed, "Remember what she said when we told her?"

"I remember how she fucking lunged at you like she was ready to take your head off."

"That was funny."

"Dumbass, that was scary!"

Hinata snorted. Though the memory made him laugh, it was not a great one at all for Kageyama to think about. Kiyoko was already in a cranky mood after she saw that Kageyama had gone to visit her at her apartment with Hinata. To say she didn't like Hinata was an understatement; she /hated/ Hinata.

"Kiyoko," said Kageyama, shielding Hinata protectively, "You... you are an amazing girl, okay? Your soulmate is going to be so lucky to have you--"

"What're you saying?!" she snapped, eyeing Hinata angrily.

"W-Well... I'm... happy, Kiyoko. I'm happy with Hinata. And... and as I've spent more time with him, I realize why the universe put us together. We... were destined for one another, I truly believe that. And... and now I realize that... I'm in love with him, Kiyoko. I am."

The raven-haired girl reacted pretty much as expected. She slapped, kicked, and punched at her now ex-boyfriend, screaming in his face. But then her eyes turned toward Hinata and that's when she lunged at him. Kageyama caught her, of course, but she wasn't having any of his explanations.

"Kiyoko, I'm telling you, soulmate's are the most wonderful things--"

"Shut the hell up, you prick!" she shouted, eyes beginning to turn wet, "You stupid pathetic, ass! We shouldn't have gone out for coffee that day, I should've known." She began to cry, finally turning toward Kageyama softly and clutching onto his front, "Kageyama... honey, I forgive you for saying such foolish things, okay?! But you love me, right? You're in love with me, n-not him! You don't know what you're saying about soulmates--"

"Kiyoko," said Kageyama softly, "I do love you. But... but not in a romantic way. I... I know that it's the shallowest thing to say, but I really do want to be your friend. You... you're amazing girl, Kiyoko, truly, and... and maybe you don't understand right now, but when you meet you're soulmate, you'll understand why I'm telling you this."

"I don't understand..." she cried, and then she turned to Hinata, "You... you've ruined my life. I hate you, I absolutely hate you--"

"K-Kiyoko," started Hinata softly, "I know we never got a chance to really know each other, but... but I would like to. Kageyama... he always said such amazing things about you, and I still believe them all to be true. I want to get to know you--"

"You stupid, pathetic boy," growled Kiyoko, and the puffiness in her eyes only turned more red as she struggled against Kageyama's hold, "I'll murder you. How dare you come into /my/ house and steal /my/ boyfriend and then think I'd want to be your friend... you're a terrible person, and I hope that when you rot in hell that the flames scorch your skin into nothing!"

Hinata widened his eyes. He understood how she was feeling, but her words were extremely dark.

"Hey," growled Kageyama, "That's my boyfriend you're talking to!"

Hinata's heart swelled up with pride. Kiyoko looked taken aback.

"Both of you!" she screeched, "Get out! Get out, now! I can't wait until you both break up! Don't come crawling back to me when you realize that he's no good for you!"

"That won't happen," answered Hinata, "There's no way I'm going to give Kageyama up."

"Me too," Kageyama said, "So don't worry, Kiyoko. If you want have me as a friend, then--"

"You're both so conceited!" Kiyoko cried, "Thinking I'd just accept this! I... please, go away... just leave me alone. I don't ever want to see you two again."

Kageyama sighed, "That night was a roller coaster ride, I don't like thinking about such a time." He leaned closer to Hinata, watching as an upbeat song began and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima began dancing around wildly, "I mean... she had a right to be angry with me. I just didn't expect her to say such awful things... I'm sorry she said those things to you, baby."

"Say," Hinata smirked jokingly, "when I'm rotting in hell and the flames are scorching me to nothing, will you still stay by my side?"

Kageyama gave a loud laugh, clicking his tongue at Hinata, "Of course I will, idiot."

"You're right, though... I... I think she had every right to be angry. I can't imagine you coming up to me and telling me you're in love with someone else."

"That won't happen."

"Stupid, I know that."

"She was so cruel to you when we were dating, though... she hated you because she was jealous. But I broke up with a long time ago. She's probably dating someone new and has already completely forgotten about me."

"I hope she's happy," said Hinata truthfully, "I hope she meets her soulmate and is able to be happy."

"Aren't you angry about what she said to you?"

Hinata smiled warmly, "Not at all. I've forgiven her for saying those things. She'll probably always hate me, but I hope that she can be happy, anyway. We... we all deserve happiness, I think. Just like I'm happy being with you."

Tobio smiled, kissing Shouyou's head again. "You're truly amazing, Shou. I hope she's happy, too."

The two of them did not discuss Kiyoko again. Kageyama was right; they shouldn't have been discussing such terrible memories on such a happy day. Today was about Tsukki and Yamaguchi, and they wanted to remain that way.

A while later and the married pair were heading over to Hinata and Kageyama, laughing and having fun.

"Don't you two wanna dance?!" Yamaguchi asked over the music. Tsukki sat down, sweaty and worn out.

"A little later, maybe," Kageyama said, "You're quite the dancer, Yamaguchi!"

Tadashi giggled at him. He then asked, "Well, if you don't want to dance, then can I steal my best friend for a little bit?"

Hinata perked up, saying, "Sure! I'd love to dance!" He pecked Kageyama on the cheek and then stood up, taking Yamaguchi's hand and then ran off to the dance floor. Dozens of bodies were already mingling there, but Yamaguchi and Hinata squeezed in and began to frantically dance around, both of them making a fool of themselves.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Yamaguchi, trying to be a good host.

"Hell yeah!" responded Hinata, "This is the greatest wedding I've ever been to!"

"You've never been to a wedding!"

"I know!"

The two laughed, stepping closer and dancing a little less harshly.

"Excited for tonight?" asked Shouyou and Yamguchi blushed knowingly.

"Yeah. We're going to a hotel and then flying out for out honeymoon tomorrow morning."

"Wow, you've gotta be up early, then!" Hinata laughed, leaning a little closer, "Tell Tsukki not to be too rough on you tonight."

"Hinata!" shrieked Yamaguchi, slapping his arm playfully. "It'll be amazing, hopefully."

"Okay, okay," interfered Hinata, "I know I was the one that mentioned it, but please spare me the details of your sex life."

Yamaguchi snickered, chuckling when Hinata took Yamaguchi's hand and raised it up so that he could spin him around playfully. The two of them laughed together, each taking a careful glance toward where their soulmate's were sitting. The two taller men were talking, looking cool. The pair that were currently working up a sweat felt their hearts individually give a rapid beat.

"I never got to tell you properly," Yamaguchi told Hinata, "But... but Kageyama is a good guy, Hinata. I know I didn't approve of him earlier on in your relationship, but... he means well." He smiled lovingly at his best friend, "I'm really happy that he's your soulmate and not some ugly hobo, Hinata."

Hinata felt his heart well up with pride. "I love you, Yams. You're my best friend in the whole entire world. I'm so glad that you said that." He turned to look at his soulmate, grinning softly, "I'm really in love with him," he breathed, turning to Yamaguchi and saying, "Congratulations, man. I... I look up to you, really. You've always encouraged me and... thank you for that."

"Stupid," sniffed Yamaguchi, eyes turning wet, "I love you, too, Hinata. We've been friends for so long now... let's stay best friends for even longer, okay?"

"Duh," said Hinata, rolling his eyes, "I'm going to need your expertise for when Kageyama does something stupid and pisses me off."

Yamaguchi clicked his tongue, eyes flickering back to where their soulmate's were seated, smirking.

"I don't think you have to worry about that for a long time." 

At that moment, they watched as Tsukishima and Kageyama stood up, worming their way towards them. Yamaguchi and Hinata gave each other a knowing look before Tsukki came up to them, first.

"Can I dance with my husband, now?"

"Hey, you're the one that ditched him!"

"Shut up, shorty."

Kageyama gripped at Hinata's hip, smiling down at him. Yamaguchi allowed Tsukishima to grip one of his hands in his own, attaching his fingers to Yamaguchi's back with the other.

"What were you two talking about so intensely?" asked Kageyama as he began to sway with his boyfriend.

"We were talking about how big of an idiot you are."

"Oh, so all good things, then?"

Hinata laughed at the retort, placing his hands on Kageyama's shoulders. They each felt the markings on their wrists prickle slightly as they stared into each other's eyes. Kageyama reached up to place a hair behind Hinata's ear, rubbing gently at his cheek.

Kageyama felt that familiar heat he'd gotten so used to tighten in his chest. It was hard to believe that in one point of time, he'd been so afraid of that astounding pressure. But now, things were different. He embraced that harsh heat that took over his chest, the pressure that would never, ever go away. Kageyama didn't want it to go away. He cradled that feeling in his heart, felt it tighten and pulse every time Hinata came into view. 

Tobio gently grabbed at Hinata's wrist, tilting his head to the side and leaving one soft, incredibly warm kiss over the name written there. Hinata felt his own heart warm at the feeling, and, suddenly, he felt as though he might cry. But the tears that he would shed were no longer the ones that he had felt when he'd first met his soulmate, and they weren't just happy tears; they small drops that reminded Hinata that Kageyama was his. Maybe it was a stupid way to express his love to his soulmate, but Hinata didn't care. All he cared about was that Kageyama was now kissing over those tears knowingly, washing them away.

The taller man held him even closer then, and they slowly swayed inappropriately to an upbeat song. Hinata allowed himself to hear the heart that rested inside of his lover, listening to his quickening beat as Shouyou remained close to him. Hinata didn't need Kageyama to say the three words that he'd already repeated to him time and time again; the thumping of his chest was enough of a reminder that Kageyama belonged to him and no one else. Neither of them wished for it to be any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's officially the end of this work. What did you guys think? I guess it's really just a filler to tie things together that I didn't mention in the first chapter. A few people wanted to know how the break-up with Kiyoko went, and that's how I envisioned it. It was originally in my plans to marry Tsukki and Yams, but I had so many words that I didn't add it to the first chapter. But people wanted it so here it is!  
> I know it's not the best filler, but I did my best. Please let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading. :)

**Author's Note:**

> The ending was a lot more dull than I wanted, but I was too excited not to post this. I hope I can go back and edit it so that it's a little more stronger and feel-y. Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> (And I'm sorry for making Kiyoko a bitch, that was not at all what I intended and I felt so bad, she is the sweetest most precious creature ever and I would like to formally apologize, I love Kiyoko, I really do.)


End file.
